Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has signed a strategic partnership with Kanoo Travel to open four joint retail locations in Dubai.

The new partnership will allow Etihad Airways to better serve the needs of travellers in its growing Dubai market, throughout the GCC and in the UK, and augment its ability to promote travel to leisure markets, including a broader distribution of Etihad Holidays packages.

Kanoo Travel is the largest travel company in the Middle East with more than 200 offices in the region. Four Kanoo retail locations in Dubai will be rebranded as Etihad/Kanoo outlets to mark the partnership.

Etihad Airways Chief Commercial Officer Peter Baumgartner said: "The strategic partnership with Kanoo Travel marks a major milestone for Etihad Airways' distribution strategy.

"Kanoo Travel is a long established travel group with a strong position in both the Middle East and United Kingdom. They have considerable reach and expertise in servicing the corporate and consumer segments in many of our important growth markets, which Etihad Airways will now be able to leverage.

"The co-branding of four retail locations in Dubai is only the beginning of an ambitious joint vision for our partnership, which will see Etihad Airways increase its share of various GCC markets."

Mishal Kanoo, the Deputy Chairman of The Kanoo Group said: "It is truly an honour for us to work with such a wonderful airline.  Etihad symbolizes all that an airline should be and to be able to offer their clients a way to extend that wonderful experience will be a joy for us at Kanoo.

"From the day Etihad set out to join the airline industry, it made its goal quite clear--to be the best. We are honored at Kanoo to be able to play a part in helping Etihad Airways achieve that goal; a task made easy by the superior product and service they offer."

-Ends-

About Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, began operations in 2003, and in 2011 carried 8.3 million passengers. From its hub at Abu Dhabi International Airport, Etihad Airways serves 84 passenger and cargo destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and North America, with a fleet of 67 Airbus and Boeing aircraft, and 100 aircraft on order, including 10 Airbus A380s, the world's largest passenger aircraft. Etihad Airways also owns nearly 30 per cent of airberlin, Europe's sixth largest airline, and 40 per cent of Air Seychelles. For more information, please visit: www.etihad.com

About  Kanoo Travel
The Kanoo family's involvement in air travel goes back to 1937 when the company provided refuelling facilities in Bahrain for Imperial Airways seaplanes on route to India and Australia. In 1947 Kanoo Travel became the first IATA agency in the Gulf and in 1997 they became the very first travel company in the Middle East to receive the ISO certification.

Kanoo Travel is currently the largest travel company in the Middle East, with a team of travel specialists operating a network of over 180 offices in the region and through a global network of world-class travel partners.

For more information contact:
Reem Al Midwahi, Corporate Communications Manager
Mob: +971 (50) 8126378
Email: Ralmidwahi@etihad.ae

© Press Release 2012