Etihad Airways, American Airlines sign codeshare pact; Etihad to start Chicago flights

A codeshare agreement between Etihad Airways, the flag-carrier airline of Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and American Airlines, based in Fort Worth, Texas, the United States, will take effect in end-August 2009. The codeshare pact is being implemented around the same time that Etihad Airways is launching flights to Chicago, the United States, on September 2, 2009.

On the Abu Dhabi-Chicago route, Etihad Airways will initially fly three times a week. The frequency will be raised to six flights a week from November 1, 2009, and then upgraded to a daily service from January 1, 2010.

Etihad Airways at present operate services to two destinations in North America, New York in the United States and Toronto in Canada.

The codeshare pact, according to a statement from Etihad Airways, will extend further the global networks of American Airlines and Etihad Airways by offering “easy connections” between Abu Dhabi and important cities in the United States, including Washington, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Houston.

In accordance with the agreement, Etihad Airways will place its ‘EY’ code on several trans-Atlantic services that American Airlines operate between the United States and Europe.

Etihad Airways will also place its ‘EY’ code on selected domestic services that American Airlines operate beyond New York and Chicago, as well as between Abu Dhabi and New York, Chicago, Dublin, Paris, Milan, Frankfurt and Manchester.

The domestic routes of American Airlines within the United States covered by the codeshare pact will include, to begin with, flights between New York and Los Angeles, Washington and San Francisco.

The route will also include services between Chicago and Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston and Washington.

The trans-Atlantic services that the American Airlines-Etihad Airways deal will enable include flights by American Airlines between Paris and Boston, Chicago, and Miami; between Dublin and Chicago; between Frankfurt and Dallas/Fort Worth; between Manchester and Chicago; and between Milan and New York.

American Airlines said in a separate statement that passengers transferring between American Airlines and Etihad Airways can buy a single ticket for their journey and thus benefit from the convenience of being able to check in their baggage to their final destination.

At present, American Airlines operates trans-Atlantic services from New York to London, Paris, Zurich, Brussels, Barcelona, Milan and Rome and from Chicago to
London, Manchester, Frankfurt, Paris, Brussels, Rome, Dublin, New Delhi and Moscow.

It also operates flights from Miami to London, Paris and Madrid: from Dallas/Fort Worth to London, Paris, Frankfurt and Madrid; from Los Angeles to London; and from Raleigh/Durham to London.