Kenya Airways has announced the expansion of its global network through a new code-sharing agreement with Etihad Airways, the United Arab Emirates’ national airline.
Kenya Airways will also launch a new three times a week service between Nairobi and Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, from June 2013, to give passengers improved connections and greater choice.
Under the new agreement, Kenya Airways will initially place its KQ code on Etihad Airways existing daily service between Nairobi and Abu Dhabi, and onwards to 32 destinations on Etihad’s global network.
This will provide passengers with connections over Abu Dhabi to destinations across North Asia, South East Asia, the Indian sub-continent and Australia.
In return, Etihad Airways will place its EY code on Kenya Airways for travel from 1 April.
Kenya Airways Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer Titus Naikuni said Friday: “This new codeshare agreement is a significant development for Kenya Airways that enables us to provide our passengers with convenient access to the capital of the UAE and onwards on the extensive Etihad Airways network.”
The agreement with Etihad Airways brings the number of strategic code-sharing deals that Kenya Airways has signed with other international carriers to 18.
In turn, the deal with the national carrier of Kenya brings to 42 the number of code-sharing partners for Etihad Airways, providing the airline with a combined network of more than 349 destinations, more than any other Middle East airline.
