Etihad Airways signs codeshare with Latin American airline Gol

Etihad Airways has signed a codeshare agreement with Gol, the largest low-cost and low-fare airline in Latin America.
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The agreement depends on approval from ANAC (National Civil Aviation Agency) and CADE (Brazil's antitrust authority).

The companies already have an interline agreement and the expansion of the partnership through the codeshare agreement will initially allow Etihad Airways to include its code on flights operated by GOL, giving its customers a greater number of connections for destinations in Brazil and South America.

Kevin Knight, chief strategy and planning officer at Etihad Airways, said: “Brazil is a growing market for Etihad Airways and we are delighted that the partnership with Gol Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes greatly expands our business and leisure travel offering, between the UAE and South America’s largest market.
 
“Etihad Airways’ guests can now enjoy easy and convenient connections over São Paulo to 52 destinations throughout Brazil including Rio de Janeiro, Salvador and Brasilia and further afield to 14 destinations in Latin America including Uruguay and Argentina.
 
“This new codeshare partnership is a natural development of the interline agreement we signed with Gol in October last year and we look forward to broadening the scope of co-operation even further in the future.”

Paulo Kakinoff, GOL's CEO added: "GOL has been investing in partnerships that are ensuring greater benefits for our customers and strengthening the alliance with Etihad will do precisely that."

Both companies will soon sign a Frequent Flyer Programme (FFP) agreement offering all their customers the benefits of their respective mileage programs - GOL's Smiles and Etihad's Etihad Guest. 

Analyst Sj Ahmad commented: “Etihad has arguably stolen a march on Emirates and Qatar Airways by getting together with GOL to codeshare on flights between Brazil and the UAE. 

“Notwithstanding the spike in business and tourism from the 2014 FIFA World Cup, Brazil is one of the world's largest booming economies and Etihad's move to partner GOL, the biggest domestic player in the country will give their passengers a wonderful gateway across GOL's huge domestic and regional network.” 

Ahmad added: “Likewise, GOL passengers will now be able to connect seamlessly to Abu Dhabi and the wider GCC through Etihad and the pooling of their frequent flier programs further down the line will provide more incentive to fly. While still subject to approval, this deal certainly puts Etihad in a great position to leverage the strength of Brazil's growing economic power as people spend more income on flights outside of Latin America - and since GOL doesn't operate international flights lie Etihad, there is very little overlap and that allows for a more cohesive fit between the two networks that the airlines have. This is definitely a smart move and one that will bolster the coffers for both airlines going forward.”