Etihad Airways has signed a new codeshare agreement with Flybe, the biggest regional airline in Europe, making it possible for the Abu Dhabi carrier's customers to fly to a host of new regional airports within the UK.

The new deal will also give air travellers in the UK greater and easier access to Etihad’s rapidly expanding network of more than 55 destinations.

Under the deal, Etihad will place its two-letter ‘EY’ code on a number of services operated by Flybe between Paris, Frankfurt and Manchester and 35 regional airports within the UK. In turn, Flybe will place its ‘BE’ code on Etihad’s flights between the same three destinations and its Abu Dhabi home base.

Etihad Airways currently flies directly from Abu Dhabi to two destinations within the UK – a three-times-per-day service to London Heathrow and a daily service to Manchester. The new codeshare agreement with Flybe will give Etihad customers access to several regional airports in the UK, including Southampton, Birmingham and Belfast.

“The UK is a key market for Etihad Airways and one which we are extremely keen to develop further. Flybe is a well-established and well-run operator with great reach within UK and mainline Europe,” said Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways’ chief commercial officer.

“The agreement with Etihad is an exciting development for Flybe, and we are delighted to be working with such an excellent and well-respected airline. The codeshare is win-win for both airlines,” added Mike Rutter, Flybe chief commercial officer.

Flybe is the biggest regional airline in Europe and operates flights to 180 destinations across 13 countries. The airline's largest base is Southampton Airport with other bases at Manchester, Birmingham and Belfast City airports.

Etihad Airways codeshare strategy continues to develop with 19 other codeshare agreements now in place.-TradeArabia News Service