Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, and Avianca Brasil, one of the leading airlines in Latin America, have announced a codeshare partnership.
Under the agreement, Etihad Airways will put its 'EY' code on domestic flights operated by Avianca Brasil, while Avianca Brasil will put its 'O6' code on Etihad Airways flights between Abu Dhabi and São Paulo.
Travellers on Etihad Airways flights between São Paulo (GRU) and Abu Dhabi (AUH) and beyond will benefit from convenient connections to and from eight other Brazilian destinations on Avianca Brasil, including Rio de Janeiro (GIG), Curitiba (CWB), Florianópolis (FLN), Fortaleza (FOR), Porto Alegre (POA), Recife (REC), Salvador (SSA), and Maceió (MCZ).
"Avianca is an important strategic partner for Etihad Airways in South America. In addition to the codeshare agreement recently signed with Avianca Colombia, we are further strengthening our presence in Brazil by offering our guests more convenience and connections with a single combined ticket," said Martin Drew, Senior Vice President - Americas at Etihad Airways.
"Through its main hub in Abu Dhabi, Etihad Airways will offer our customers excellent options of connection flights, especially to destinations in Africa, Asia and Oceania, where Avianca Brasil doesn't operate directly. This partnership is important because it adds even more value to the services we offer our passengers," added Frederico Pedreira, President of Avianca Brasil.
Codeshare agreements offer guests countless benefits, such as direct baggage check-in to their final destination and extra assistance during connections. Later this year, Etihad Guest members and Avianca Brasil's Amigo members will be able to earn and redeem miles on codeshare flights.
Etihad Airways has flown between Abu Dhabi and São Paulo, its first destination in South America, since June 2013. By the end of 2015 the airline had carried over 340,000 passengers on the route. Avianca Brasil serves 22 cities in its home country with over 200 daily flights. In 2015, the carrier transported 8.5 million customers.
Bookings on Etihad Airways can be made directly through the airline's website, etihad.com, via telephone at +971 2 5990000 and through travel agencies worldwide.
Competitive fares to Abu Dhabi are available on the Avianca Brasil website (www.avianca.com.br), via telephone at 4004-4040 (São Paulo and main capitals) or 0300-789-8160 (other locations) and travel agencies worldwide.
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About Etihad Airways
Etihad Aviation Group (EAG) is a diversified global aviation and travel group comprising four business divisions - Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, Etihad Engineering, Hala Group and Airline Equity Partners. The group has minority investments in seven airlines: airberlin, Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, Alitalia, Jet Airways, Virgin Australia, and Swiss-based Darwin Airline, trading as Etihad Regional.
From its Abu Dhabi base, Etihad Airways flies to, or has announced plans to serve, 117 passenger and cargo destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas. The airline has a fleet of 122 Airbus and Boeing aircraft, with 204 aircraft on firm order, including 71 Boeing 787s, 25 Boeing 777Xs, 62 Airbus A350s and 10 Airbus A380s. For more information, please visit: www.etihad.com
About Avianca Brasil
Avianca Brasil has been a scheduled carrier since 2002. Covering 22 domestic and one international destination with over 200 daily flights, the company transported 8.5 million passengers in 2015 on its modern fleet of 41 Airbus aircraft. As a Star Alliance member, the airline offers customers access to more than 1,300 airports worldwide through the networks of its 27 international air partners. Avianca Brasil is widely recognized for the quality of its products and services, such as free meals, individual in-flight entertainment and more legroom, in addition to its Amigo loyalty program, which has over 3.5 registered customers. For more information, please visit: www.avianca.com.br, follow @AviancaBrasil and join Avianca Brasil on Facebook.
Media contacts:
Katie Connell, Etihad Airways
kconnell@etihad.ae and Tel: (917) 515-1136 (mobile)
Samantha Stark, Ketchum on behalf of Etihad Airways
Samantha.Stark@Ketchum.com and Tel.: (202) 835-9424 (direct)
Avianca Brasil Media Relations
imprensa@avianca.com.br and Tel.: +55 (11) 3475-8012
© Press Release 2016
