Etihad Airways is set to establish a partnership with easyJet, a British low-cost airline. The new partnership marks Etihad’s first use of the New Distribution Capability (NDC) platform.
Etihad plans to include more airlines and travel partners to its NDC portfolio this year. The partnership will enable customers of both airlines to purchase tickets through the easyJet worldwide website.
Providing end-to-end booking capabilities for customers is a win-win for all parties. easyJet website will connect the two airlines’ networks for travel between Europe, Africa, the Azores and the UAE. The Etihad Airways and easyJet collaboration is effective immediately.
Customers will be able to purchase tickets on the easyJet website from 68 cities including Paris, Rome, Milan, Geneva, Zurich, Madrid, Barcelona, Manchester, Amsterdam and Athens.
Both airlines will expand their partnership to additionally include other destinations in the future. Ali Saleh, Etihad Airways’ vice president of Alliances and Partnerships, told the media that, “easyJet is a perfect launch partner for us in Europe, allowing us to reliably increase the breadth of our continental reach to and from Abu Dhabi, as we enhance ways of connecting directly with more airlines and travel partners around the world. The ability to provide end-to-end booking capabilities through our NDC platform will provide customers with ‘one stop’ solutions for seamless travel with partners, whether legacy or low-cost, through Etihad’s global gateways.”
Being the UAE’s national carrier, Etihad Airways is one of the world’s largest airlines. easyJet is headquartered in London. easyJey has already established a partnership deal with Emirates Airline. Members of the loyalty programme Emirates Skywards can use their miles to purchase flights on easyJet.