Etihad Airways and Czech Airlines to codeshare

Czech Airlines (OK) and Etihad Airways (EY) have signed a new codeshare agreement which will see Czech Airlines launch new direct flights between Abu Dhabi and Prague, and offer onward global connections through Etihad’s network.

The connections include key cities in the Middle East such as Abu Dhabi, Muscat, Bahrain and Kuwait. Destinations on the Indian subcontinent and in Asia such as Colombo in Sri Lanka, Bangkok, Singapore, Jakarta and Manila, plus Australian cities Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane will be easily reached.

The agreement will also allow Etihad passengers to book flights straight through to Prague and beyond to other Czech Airlines serviced routes.

Philippe Moreels, Czech Airlines’ Vice-President of Economics said, “Czech Airlines is an important player on the European market but on a global scale it is difficult to compete without strong partners. We are extremely satisfied that we have found a genuinely strong and respected partner in Etihad Airways. I believe that the announcement we are making today will serve both outbound and inbound passengers extremely well. And it is merely the first step towards deeper and more intensive cooperation in the future.”

Czech Airlines will inaugurate its first flight to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, on 21 September 2011. The airline will initially operate four weekly return flights to Abu Dhabi, departing from Prague every Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Sunday using Airbus A319 aircraft. Thanks to the strategic partnership and cooperation on code sharing, Czech Airlines passengers can then continue onwards with Etihad Airways with a single OK flight ticket, to Etihad’s almost 70 global destinations.

Similarly, Etihad’s guests can travel on Czech Airlines flights to Prague’s Ruzyne airport and on to other Czech Airlines’ destinations in central and Eastern Europe. Czech Airlines’ arrival and departure times at Abu Dhabi ensure passengers can carry on to their target destination in under three hours.