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Amid heightened activity by Middle East carriers to form alliances with airlines in Australasia, Etihad has announced a codeshare deal with Indonesia’s Garuda.
The arrangement, which is Etihad’s 42nd codeshare, will begin on October 28. The airline will place its EY code on Garuda’s services between Jakarta and Denpasar and Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur, while Garuda will sell seats onto Etihad’s services under the GA code between Jakarta and 31 of the Abu Dhabi-based airline’s destinations in the Gulf, Europe, US and Africa.
The deal is seen as a “first phase” of the relationship between the two airlines, and while still subject to government approvals, will be extended in the near-term to include frequent flyer and lounge reciprocity.
Etihad president and CEO, James Hogan, said: “The partnership with Garuda Indonesia will contribute to Etihad Airways achieving its goal of expanding its network and brand presence in South East Asia.” Hogan also sees the arrangements as being a useful mechanism to increase the trade of commodities, which will boost viability of the services through airfreight uplift.
In 2007 Garuda was banned from flying in European airspace. Since the lifting of the EU-imposed ban in 2009, Garuda has embarked strenuously on business improvement initiatives that are seeing it gradually restore its international network, re-equip its fleet and improve customer service and safety. Garuda sees the initiative with Etihad as being an important component of that program.
