UAE’s Etihad and Saudia launch new loyalty programme, renew codeshare agreement

Etihad Airways and Saudia, the national carriers of the UAE and Saudi Arabia respectively, announced a new reciprocal loyalty agreement on Wednesday, May 19, expanding on their existing codeshare agreement.

Members of the Etihad Guest and Saudia’s Alfursan programmes can now earn and redeem miles on flights across both carriers’ networks.

Loyalty programme members from both airlines will also be able to earn Tier Miles and Tier Segments, allowing them to progress to the next tier level faster. Members can earn miles on Etihad and Saudia codeshare flights.

Ina statement issued on Wednesday, Etihad said that the two carriers are re-launching their codeshare cooperation beyond each other’s hubs. Over 110,000 passenger journeys have been facilitated by way of this codeshare over the past two years.

By way of the re-launched codeshare agreement, Saudia has added its ‘SV’ code to 15 destinations on the Etihad network in Saudi Arabia, Asia, the US and Europe, while Etihad has added its ‘EY’ code to Saudia destinations in Pakistan.

“As the aviation industry begins to restart and guests return to the skies, this partnership strengthens the airlines’ commitment to growing inbound business and tourism in their respective markets. It complements Etihad’s existing codeshare agreement with Saudia and opens more destinations for Etihad Guest members to earn and spend their miles through travel,” said Terry Daly, executive director guest experience, brand and marketing, Etihad Airways.

Etihad has been operating to Saudi Arabia since 2004, and prior to Covid pandemic, were operating up to 77 weekly flights between Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, Dammam, Jeddah and Medina.

The airline is presently operating direct flights to Riyadh, Dammam and Jeddah and guests transiting through Abu Dhabi from the Kingdom have access to Etihad’s USA pre-clearance, the only United States Customs and Border Protection facility in the Middle East. It allows passengers bound for the US to process all immigration, customs and agriculture inspections in Abu Dhabi before they board they board their flight to Chicago, New York or Washington D.C. Etihad Airways Engineering has also been collaborating with Saudia since 2016 at its MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Operations) facility in Abu Dhabi.

In February this year, Etihad also signed a Strategic Commercial Cooperation Agreement (SCCA) with Bahrain’s national carrier Gulf Air to broaden commercial cooperations between the two airlines and expand the codeshare agreement between the two airlines.

Read: UAE’s Etihad and Bahrain’s Gulf Air to expand codeshare agreement