Fiji Airways and Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, have announced a new and far reaching interline agreement between the two carriers.

This agreement will allow reciprocal sales from and to 12 cities in Europe, 17 cities in the Middle East, five cities in Africa, five cities in North America, 29 cities in Asia and three cities in Australia to and from Fiji.

The agreement comes into place with immediate effect and is the starting point of further negotiations between the two airlines.

Etihad president James Hogan said: “Fiji is a great holiday market and we are happy to offer Fiji as an additional destination in our global network.

“The agreement also connects the outer South Pacific Islands to our network which creates more opportunities for our worldwide sales force.”

The Fijian attorney general and minister for tourism, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum, has hailed the agreement as an exciting new development for Fiji Airways and the entire Fijian economy.

“This opens up a whole new lucrative market for our tourism industry, enabling us to attract affluent visitors from Abu Dhabi - Etihad’s base - the other Gulf States, the rest of the Middle East and beyond,” he said.

The minister added that the Fijian government hopes that this agreement will strengthen both Fiji’s national airline and the national economy for the long-term benefit of every Fijian.

Etihad Airways joins Fiji Airways’ impressive list of codeshare or interline partners, which includes American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Qantas and Air New Zealand.