Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, is to expand significantly its reach across Africa after signing a strategic commercial partnership agreement with Kenya Airways, the national flag carrier of Kenya. Etihad Airways will place its EY code on Kenya Airways flights from Nairobi to 27 destinations across Kenya Airways' network in Africa. As part of the reciprocal codeshare agreement, Kenya Airways will place its KQ code on Etihad Airways' daily service from Nairobi to Abu Dhabi and, subject to government approval, onwards to up to 32 key destinations across Etihad's global network. Kenya Airways will also launch a new three times a week service between Nairobi and Abu Dhabi from mid-summer 2013. This will give passengers improved connections and greater choice. The agreement paves the way for greater collaboration between the airlines on the joint procurement of services for ground handling, line and heavy maintenance, training and cargo operations. The new codeshare with Kenya Airways will complement Etihad's existing scheduled service between Nairobi to Abu Dhabi which provides passengers with sub-four hour connections over its hub in the UAE to destinations across North Asia, South East Asia, the Indian Sub continent and Australia. James Hogan, Etihad Airways President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “The partnership agreement with Kenya Airways is in line with our strategy of forming alliances with airlines around the world to enhance our network and marketing reach. This agreement will also allow both airlines to benefit from cost savings achieved through synergies and economies of scale.” “Last year we launched new services to Tripoli, Nairobi and Lagos, and over the last five years we have more than doubled our services to Africa, reflecting the increasing importance of the continent. During the same period we have flown nearly three million passengers between Africa and the UAE, and key destinations across our network.” – SG
