Etihad Airways to Expand S7 Codeshare Agreement

Etihad Airways is celebrating four years of its non-stop service between Moscow and Abu Dhabi.

The Abu Dhabi-based airline commenced operations to the Russian capital on 1 December 2008, and since then has carried almost 250,000 travellers and 620 tons of cargo on the route.

Five weekly flights became a daily service in 2009, and load factors have increased in each year of operation.

“The UAE is home to almost 25,000 Russians and 400 Russia-UAE joint venture companies, and as a result, the business and cultural ties between the two countries have never been stronger,” said James Hogan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways. “Moscow-Abu Dhabi has been a tremendous success with strong load factor and good traffic feeds from our codeshare partner, S7 Airlines. The aim now is to expand services and connectivity over both Abu Dhabi and Moscow with S7.”

Etihad Airways codeshares on S7 operated services from Moscow to the Russian cities of Kazan (KZN), Samara (KUF), Krasnodar (KRR) and Saint Petersburg (LED).

S7 codeshares on Etihad Airways’ daily Moscow-Abu Dhabi service and onwards to Bangkok.

Subject to receiving necessary government approvals, the next phase of Etihad Airways’ partnership with S7 will see the Russian carrier’s flight code placed on Etihad Airways’ flights to Sydney and Melbourne.

Mr Hogan said that additional expansion opportunities are also being actively evaluated.

In recent times Etihad Airways has made it easier for Russian nationals to obtain a UAE visiting visa, through the TT Services online visa application centre.

Mr Hogan said, ““By year end, Etihad Airways will be a US$5 billion business, we’ll have carried more 10 million passengers across our global network, and have 1.8 million Etihad Guest loyalty members. All this will have been achieved despite a still fragile global economy, and at times, challenging operating conditions ... Working closely with S7 Airlines, our Russian partners, the travel industry, the business community and governments, we look forward to further cementing the Etihad Airways brand across Russia and deepening the already strong relationship between Russia and the United Arab Emirates.”

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