Virgin expands international network with two European codeshares destinations

The airline said on Thursday it would place its VA airline code on alliance partner Etihad Airways’ flights from Abu Dhabi to Madrid and Edinburgh.

The two destinations were the 36th and 37th European cities on Etihad’s network that Virgin offers codeshare flights on.

Virgin and Etihad’s alliance covers more than 100 codeshare and interline destinations and offer members of their respective frequent flyer program reciprocal benefits such as lounge access, priority checkin and increased baggage allowance.

Out of Australia, Etihad flies from Brisbane, Perth, Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane to its Abu Dhabi hub. Meanwhile, Virgin operates three flights a week between Sydney and Abu Dhabi.