Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, is now able to provide enhanced access to and from South Africa following the launch yesterday of a new daily service between Johannesburg and Abu Dhabi by its code-share partner, South African Airways.

A delegation comprised of senior SAA management, South African government officials and visiting travel trade and media representatives, was welcomed to Abu Dhabi last night.

The new service has been introduced as part of an expansion of the strategic partnership agreement between the two airlines, and complements Etihad Airways' existing daily service from Abu Dhabi to Johannesburg, to provide guests with a double-daily service and greater choice and flexibility whether travelling from Africa, the UAE or beyond.

As a result, South Africa's Airways guests who travel from Africa, can access up to 35 new code-share destinations, pending regulatory approval, with connections through the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi hub to key destinations in the GCC region, Europe, North and South East Asia, the Indian Subcontinent and Australia.
Etihad Airways' guests will benefit from enhanced access to Africa on South Africa's Airways new service from Abu Dhabi to Johannesburg, and subject to outstanding regulatory approval, onwards to 17 code-share destinations across South Africa's Airways network in Africa.

Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways Chief Commercial Officer, said, ''We are delighted to welcome the South African Airways to Abu Dhabi, and we are confident that its new service will prove popular with the increasing numbers of business and leisure travelers that fly between South Africa and key markets around the world.

''This partnership will enable us to change the size and shape of our global networks so that together we can offer more than 1,000 city pair connections every week via our respective hubs.

''By working closely together, we can enhance the benefits provided to our guests who now have greater choices, better flight connections, access to each other's premium lounges and more opportunities to earn and redeem miles when travelling with either airline.'' Nico Bezuidenhout, South African Airways Acting Chief Executive Officer, said, ''The introduction of an SAA frequency between Johannesburg and Abu Dhabi through our code-share and extended relationship with Etihad Airways will not only benefit passengers in terms of greater connectivity, particularly in the South East Asia region, but it will also provide Etihad Airways guests with greater access to the African continent through our extensive African network.'' Tourism plays a vital role for both countries. Millions of tourists visit South Africa every year, including nearly 300,000 from the Middle East region in 2014.
 

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