Etihad Airways and Korean Air will formally start a new partnership on July 22. For the first phase, Korea Air will place its KE code on the daily Etihad flights from Seoul Incheon to Abu Dhabi. Additionally, the deal will ensure that members of the Etihad Guest and SKYPASS loyalty programs will enjoy full reciprocity of benefits such as lounge access, priority check-in, extra baggage allowance and the ability to use frequent flyer points on all Etihad and Korean flights.
This is Etihad’s 46th codeshare agreement.
Etihad’s president, James Hogan, said in a press release that the partnership makes sense as the demand for travel between Korea, the UAE, Middle East and Africa have grown greatly over the past year and highlighted trade figures between the UAE and Korea was valued at US$20 billion last year and is still growing.
“Korean investment in infrastructure and other projects in the UAE—valued at approximately US$29 billion since 2009—has been a further catalyst for diplomatic, business,s and cultural exchange and a major contributor to the growth of travel between the two countries,” he said. “We envision that closer collaboration with Korean Air will foster continued bilateral growth in these areas.”
Etihad has been flying daily flights to Seoul since 2010.
For more information, visit etihad.com.