Etihad Airways - which was voted World’s Leading Airline by the World Travel Awards in 2011 - has signed a strategic partnership with Kanoo Travel to open four joint retail locations in Dubai.

The new partnership will allow Etihad Airways to better serve the needs of travellers in its growing Dubai market, throughout the GCC and in the UK, and augment its ability to promote travel to leisure markets, including a broader distribution of Etihad Holidays packages.

Kanoo Travel is the largest travel company in the Middle East with more than 200 offices in the region. Four Kanoo retail locations in Dubai will be rebranded as Etihad/Kanoo outlets to mark the partnership.

Etihad Airways Chief Commercial Officer Peter Baumgartner said: “The strategic partnership with Kanoo Travel marks a major milestone for Etihad Airways’ distribution strategy.

“Kanoo Travel is a long established travel group with a strong position in both the Middle East and United Kingdom. They have considerable reach and expertise in servicing the corporate and consumer segments in many of our important growth markets, which Etihad Airways will now be able to leverage.

“The co-branding of four retail locations in Dubai is only the beginning of an ambitious joint vision for our partnership, which will see Etihad Airways increase its share of various GCC markets.”

Mishal Kanoo, the Deputy Chairman of The Kanoo Group said: “It is truly an honour for us to work with such a wonderful airline. Etihad symbolizes all that an airline should be and to be able to offer their clients a way to extend that wonderful experience will be a joy for us at Kanoo.

“From the day Etihad set out to join the airline industry, it made its goal quite clear—to be the best. We are honored at Kanoo to be able to play a part in helping Etihad Airways achieve that goal; a task made easy by the superior product and service they offer.”

Later this month, Dubai will play host to the World Travel Awards Middle East ceremony. For more information   click here.