Etihad in Air Seychelles partnership

The Government of Seychelles and Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding wherein Etihad will invest to acquire a 40% stake in Air Seychelles as part of a strategic partnership alliance initiative between Air Seychelles and Etihad Airways.

Under the partnership Etihad Airways will seek to increase frequency of flights between Abu Dhabi and Mahé from four per week to daily, as well as providing new services to the islands.  There will be a comprehensive code-share agreement across each airline’s network and the two frequent flyer programmes are to be integrated.  Etihad Airways will also work in conjunction with Air Seychelles to develop a renewed fleet and network growth plan for the island-based carrier.

Etihad CEO James Hogan said: “This deal is consistent with our approach to expansion, which relies on the strength of strategic partnerships across the globe.  The investment in the national carrier of Seychelles is a natural next step towards growing our operations in the increasingly important leisure markets of the Indian Ocean and Africa.”

This agreement follows the December 2011 announcement that Etihad Airways would increase its stake in airBerlin to 29.21%, making it the single biggest shareholder in Europe’s sixthlargest airline. www.etihadairways.com www.airseychelles.com

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