UAE’s Etihad and Israel’s El Al launch first phase of codeshare agreement

UAE national carrier Etihad Airways and Israeli national airline El Al Israel Airlines, have launched the first phase of their joint codeshare network and reciprocal loyalty programme for frequent flyers.

Beginning July 18, 2021, El Al flights will add its ‘LY’ code to Etihad’s existing twice weekly service between Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv.

Beyond Abu Dhabi, the new partnership is planned to include destinations in Australia, Bahrain, India, Korea, Philippines and Seychelles from August 1.

In the next phase of the codeshare agreement, subject to obtaining applicable governmental and regulatory approvals, Etihad will offer guests an additional 14 destinations across the Middle East, Europe, Asia and US by adding its ‘EY’ code to El Al flights.

By way of the agreement, members of the Etihad Guest and Matmid programmes will be able to earn and redeem miles on flights across both carriers’ networks.

“We are very pleased to be able to announce the launch of our codeshare and frequent flyer partnership with El Al. This partnership will provide additional choice and connectivity for both carriers’ guests, and a range of benefits for frequent travelers between and beyond our respective hubs in Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv,” said Tony Douglas, group CEO of Etihad Aviation Group.

Etihad and El Al had signed an MoU in 2020, following the signing of the Abraham Accords, to explore areas of cooperation. That MoU also outlined plans for greater commercial cooperation in cargo, engineering, loyalty, destination management and also the optimal use of pilot and cabin crew training facilities. The engineering and cargo divisions of both carriers were also expected to discuss avenues for greater cooperation. These will include optimising MRO (maintenance repair and overhaul) opportunities, as well as ways to increase volumes of freighter traffic flowing into and out of Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv, and across the carriers’ combined networks.

Read: Abu Dhabi’s Etihad and El Al Israel sign MoU to cooperate on codeshare and loyalty programme

Avigal Soreq, CEO of El Al Israel Airlines said: “This is the first commercial partnership that El Al has established following the Abrahamic Accords. This is an important milestone as this codeshare will bring growing benefits to our passengers and to our respective airlines and countries.”

Apart from Abu Dhabi, El Al also operates several weekly flights to Dubai within the UAE.

Read also: Israel’s El Al Airlines completes inaugural scheduled flight to Dubai