Aer Arann eyes up Middle East

AIRLINE AGREEMENT:TRAVELLERS FROM Cork and Galway now have easier access to the Middle East, as Etihad Airlines has begun a code- sharing agreement with Aer Arann.

Under the new EY code on Aer Arann flights, passengers from Cork, Galway and the Isle of Man will be ably to fly via Dublin to Etihad’s Abu Dhabi base. The airport in the United Arab Emirates provides links to 48 destinations in the Middle East, Asia and Africa.

The code share provides “seamless” and less stressful travel through the Etihad network, according to Aer Arann’s chief executive, Paul Schütz.

Passengers can get their boarding cards in Cork or Galway and send their bags through to their final destination. This ensures “that it is just as easy to travel from the south or west of Ireland to Abu Dhabi, Bangkok or Sydney as it is from Dublin or London,” he says.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ chief executive, says that Dublin is one of the airline’s most popular routes, “enjoying average seat factors during 2008 of more than 80 per cent”.

He says there is great demand from customers to travel to regions beyond Dublin.

Regional access to international routes is very important, and the code share is a “very significant addition to the infrastructure supporting business and the economy in the regions,” says Schütz.

Etihad operates seven flights a week from Dublin to Abu Dhabi and back.