Air Seychelles, Airberlin ink codeshare pact

MANILA, Philippines - Air Seychelles, the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles, and Airberlin, Europe’s seventh largest airline, have signed a historic codeshare agreement allowing customers from each of the two carriers to fly seamlessly between Germany and Seychelles via Abu Dhabi.

Initially, the agreement, which comes into effect immediately, will see Air Seychelles’ HM code placed on four of Airberlin’s daily return services between Abu Dhabi and Berlin and Düsseldorf. The four weekly connections to Germany complement Air Seychelles’ existing 26 weekly codeshare connections with Etihad Airways to Frankfurt, Munich and Düsseldorf.

The two airlines are both members of the Etihad Airways strategic equity alliance, with the Abu Dhabi-based airline holding a 40-percent stake in Air Seychelles and 29.21-percent stake in Airberlin.

The new codeshare arrangement will give European travellers immediate access to a total of 38 flights a week to Seychelles from four German hubs (Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Munich) on the combined Airberlin, Air Seychelles and Etihad Airways network.

The total number of flights a week between Germany and Seychelles will leap to 54 flights a week when the new Etihad Airways and Air Seychelles schedules take effect from March 24.

The partnership between Airberlin and Air Seychelles allows both companies’ passengers to book and travel with just one ticket for their entire journey via Abu Dhabi.