El Al, Etihad sign codeshare agreement

Etihad Airways and EL AL Israel Airlines have announced a joint code-share network and reciprocal loyalty agreement for frequent flyers.

For flights starting July 18, EL AL will add its ‘LY’ code to Etihad’s existing twice-weekly service between Abu Dhabi to Tel Aviv. Beyond Etihad’s Abu Dhabi hub, this new partnership will extend further and is planned to include destinations in Australia, Bahrain, India, Korea, the Philippines and the Seychelles from August 1.

Members of the Etihad Guest and Matmid programs will be also able to earn and redeem miles on flights across both carriers’ networks.

The agreement builds on the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) the airlines signed in 2020 following the Abraham Accords signed by the UAE and Israel.

In the next phase of extending the code share agreement, subject to obtaining applicable governmental and regulatory approvals, Etihad will offer guests an additional 14 destinations across the Middle East, Europe, Asia, and US by adding its ‘EY’ code to EL AL flights, the companies said.

“This is the first commercial partnership that EL AL has established following the Abraham Accords,” said El Al CEO Avigal Soreq.

“This is an important milestone as this code share will bring growing benefits to our passengers and to our respective airlines and countries. EL AL and Etihad teams have a common goal in this partnership, and we look forward to see it grow in the future.”