Etihad Airways and El Al Israel Airlines have signed a preliminary agreement for eventual cooperation, including codesharing and reciprocal loyalty program benefits.
The memorandum of understanding, signed by El Al CEO Gonen Usishkin and Etihad Aviation Group CEO Tony Douglas, follows an agreement last month between United Arab Emirates and Israel to allow commercial flights between the two countries as part of a normalization of diplomatic relations. Etihad plans to begin daily service between Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv on March 28, 2021.
Besides codesharing and loyalty program cooperation, the two carriers are looking to work together to increase tourism to Abu Dhabi and Tel Aviv and to cooperate with aircraft maintenance and cargo services.