Emirates Airline and Etihad Airways have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to expand their interline agreement. The agreement is the first of its kind between the two carriers. It’s aimed at boosting tourism to the UAE by allowing travellers to add more cities within the country to their itinerary. Though both airlines are based in the United Arab Emirates, Etihad is owned by the emirate of Abu Dhabi while Emirates is owned by Dubai. Both operate entirely separately. Established in 1985, Emirates is now one of the world’s largest airlines and its hub is Dubai. Etihad is much newer, launching in 2003 and Abu Dhabi is its hub.
Abu Dhabi International Airport and Dubai International are less than 150 km apart, and it usually takes up to an hour and half to drive between them. While Dubai is usually more attractive for tourists with its glitzy hotels and restaurants, huge malls and many activities, Abu Dhabi has the spectacular Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, the Louvre and is a bit quieter. Tourism is one of the key pillars of the UAE Economy and is expected to contribute to 5.4 per cent of the nation’s total GDP equivalent to $47.9 billion.
Etihad has recently partnered with Emirates.
What does interlining mean?
In industry terms, it’s the baby steps airlines take when they want to cooperate. It means passengers can fly with both airlines without having to book two separate itineraries or worry about checking in their luggage again.
What does the agreement mean for travellers?
Travellers of each airline will be able to purchase a single ticket to fly into either Dubai or Abu Dhabi, with a seamless return via the other airport. Say you fly from Sydney to Dubai and do a stop over for three days. You spend two days in Dubai before heading over to Abu Dhabi. Now that the agreement is in place, you won’t have to return to Dubai to continue your journey. You can leave from Etihad: the airline will handle your luggage and check them in again. It’ll save you the 90 minute journey between the two cities and mean you won’t have to double back to Dubai.
It’ll also allow for more flexibility when it comes to finding deals, flight times and accessing the airlines’ combined destinations. Etihad flies to over 60 destinations from Abu Dhabi across Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and North America, while Emirates offers flights to Dubai from more than 130 destinations across six continents.
Abu Dhabi International Airport is set to get even busier.
Emirates offers a free hotel stay
Keep an eye on both airlines as they should start to offer extended stopover options, like the Dubai Connect program. This is where the airline will put travellers in a hotel for one night for free. For travellers who buy an Emirates return ticket up to 11 June 2023, the airline will put premium economy or economy class travellers up in the Novotel World Trade Centre, Dubai for one night. First and business class passengers will be put up for two nights at the 25hours Hotel Dubai One Central.
Both hotels are in the heart of the city, with easy access to the metro and major attractions like the Burj Khalifa and the iconic Museum of the Future. The offer is valid for all return tickets to or stopping over in Dubai for more than 24 hours for travel between now and August 31, 2023. It’s available on bookings made on emirates.com, Emirates call centre or ticket offices, and via participating travel agents, made at least 96 hours in advance of passengers’ arrival. If you miss out on Dubai Connect this time, check back with the airline again. The program is regularly offered.