The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) includes provisions for codeshare services, reciprocal loyalty benefits and cooperation in engineering and cargo services in both Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv.
On Thursday (November 19, 2020), Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, announced the signing of an MOU with EL AL, the national airline of Israel to explore greater cooperation. The scope of the agreement includes joint codeshare services, reciprocal loyalty benefits and cooperation in the fields of engineering and cargo services in Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv. The MOU was signed virtually today by Etihad Aviation Group’s Chief Executive Officer Tony Douglas and EL AL’s Chief Executive Officer Gonen Usishkin. In today’s announcement, Mr. Douglas said,
“Following EL AL’s historic flight to Abu Dhabi, the first ever flight between Israel and the UAE, this MOU is the foundation of what we envision will be a strong ongoing relationship between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv. We look forward to examining ways in which the two flag carriers – Etihad and EL AL – can work more closely together to improve business operations and enhance the experience for our guests.”
Also commenting on the new partnership, EL AL Israel Airlines’ CEO, Gonen Usishkin, added,
“Following the normalization of diplomatic relations between Israel and the UAE, we have been provided a great opportunity to examine the possibility of cooperation with Etihad Airways. This MOU is only the start and we believe that together, the two flag carriers will be able to provide our mutual customers with the best possible product and service. Already, the common goals we have outlined speak for the success of our future cooperation.”
In addition to greater commercial cooperation in the fields of cargo, engineering and loyalty programs, the MOU includes collaboration in destination management as well as the optimal use of pilot and cabin crew training facilities. The Teams at Etihad Guest and EL AL’s Matmid loyalty programs will also explore reciprocal “earn and burn” and other benefits for members and destination management teams will collaborate to encourage inbound tourism to Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv. Additionally, the engineering and cargo teams at both carriers will explore MRO optimization opportunities as well as ways to increase cargo traffic between the countries and across their global networks.
Source: Etihad Airways