Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways has become the latest carrier to join the Worldwide by Easyjet partnership programme, with connecting-flight bookings made available using NDC.
The new partnership means customers will be able to purchase tickets through Easyjet’s Worldwide website for connections onto both airlines’ networks. It follows Easyjet’s roll-out with flight comparison search engine Dohop.
The connection will give customers access to tickets from 68 cities on the Easyjet network in Europe, as well as Etihad’s flights from Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Paris, Rome, Geneva, Madrid, Manchester, Milan and Zurich to Abu Dhabi.
Etihad said its connection to the Worldwide service has been achieved using the NDC platform, marking its first use of the new distribution standard. The airline plans to add more carriers and travel partners to its NDC portfolio in 2020.
The airline confirmed its commitment to developing its NDC offering in 2018 after announcing a partnership with Farelogix.
Ali Saleh, VP of alliances and partnerships at Etihad, commented: “This new collaboration between two great brands is a logical leap forward for both our companies. Easyjet is a perfect launch partner for us in Europe, allowing us to reliably increase the breadth of our continental reach to and from Abu Dhabi as we enhance ways of connecting directly with more airlines and travel partners around the world.
“The ability to provide end-to-end booking capabilities through our NDC platform will provide customers with ‘one stop’ solutions for seamless travel with partners, whether legacy or low-cost, through Etihad’s global gateways.”
Rachel Smith, Easyjet’s head of commercial partnerships, added: “We’re excited to announce our partnership with Etihad Airways, which opens up Abu Dhabi as a destination to our passengers and more of Europe to Etihad. Through smart self-connections and strategic partnerships, we continue to extend the reach of the Worldwide by Easyjet network, offering more value and more routes to more customers.”
etihad.com; worldwide.easyjet.com