Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), established air links between the UAE and the Republic of Guinea, in West Africa, by extending its existing codeshare agreement with Royal Air Maroc, the national airline of Morocco. The expanded agreement, which came into effect last Dec.12, allows passengers to travel between Abu Dhabi and Conakry, the capital of the Republic of Guinea, with Etihad Airways between Abu Dhabi and Casablanca in Morocco, and to/from Guinea via Royal Air Maroc's non-stop service between Casablanca and Conakry twice a week. Under the existing codeshare agreement with Royal Air Maroc, Etihad Airways passengers can fly from Abu Dhabi to Casablanca, and onwards to 11 popular destinations in North and West Africa, including Agadir, Fez, Oujda, Ouarzazate, Marrakesh and Tangier in Morroco, and Nouakchott in Mauritania, Dakar in Senegal, Bamako in Mali, Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso and Conakry in Guinea. In return, Royal Air Maroc offers travellers access to Etihad Airways services beyond Abu Dhabi to Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Dubai. The codeshare agreement also allows reciprocity across their respective frequent flyer programs, Safar Flyer and Etihad Guest, allowing members to earn and redeem air miles on each other's flights. James Hogan, Etihad Airways' President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “An important part of our growth strategy is to offer customers access to as many global destinations as possible, whether this be organically, by opening up new routes of our own or through strategic agreements with other airlines, adding breadth and depth to our network.” The enhanced air links between the two capital cities of Abu Dhabi and Conakry also support recent initiatives and the growing collaboration between the UAE and the Republic of Guinea that are expected to deliver significant benefits to both economies in the future. – SG
