Etihad extends codeshare with Sri Lankan Airlines

Under the extended deal the Abu Dhabi-based airline will place its two-letter 'EY' code on all of Sri Lankan Airlines' services between the Sri Lankan capital of Colombo and Mahe, the main city in the Maldives.

Etihad has code-shared with Sri Lankan Airlines since September 2007, an agreement which up until now has only applied to flights between Abu Dhabi and Colombo.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways' chief executive, said:

"Etihad's codeshare with Sri Lankan Airlines has worked well during the last year and we are pleased to extend the deal and provide our customers with flights to the Maldives which we expect will be hugely popular with our holiday makers."

Customers of Sri Lankan Airlines will also be able to access key destinations on Etihad's growing global flight network, including convenient connections from Abu Dhabi to Damascus, Beirut and Jeddah in the Middle East as well as Geneva, Munich, Manchester, New York and Toronto.

Etihad and Sri Lankan have also signed a reciprocal agreement to link their respective frequent flyer programmes. Members of both award-winning programmes will be able to earn and redeem miles when travelling on all Etihad and Sri Lankan flights, included those covered by the new codeshare agreement.

Etihad currently has seven other codeshare agreements with Jet Airways, Yemen Airways, Saudi Arabia Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Royal Air Maroc, Philippine Airlines, Middle East Airlines and UK-based airline and bmi.