By Rafiq Vayani
ADDIS ABABA / SÃO PAULO: Africa’s largest airline group, Ethiopian Airlines and Azul Brazilian Airlines have entered a codeshare agreement effective Oct, 01, 2017.
Through the codeshare partnership Ethiopian Airlines will add its flight code (ET) in Azul’s operations; hence, customers will be able to purchase tickets directly from Ethiopian Airlines sales channels to fly to seven Brazilian destinations operated by Azul. Reciprocally, Azul airlines will market on Ethiopian vast network throughout Africa and beyond.
Girma Shiferaw, A/VP Corporate Strategy and Alliance, remarked, “I wish to thank our colleagues at Azul Brazilian Airlines, for the successful conclusion of this code share agreement. The codeshare agreement will entitle our esteemed customers travelling between Asia/Middle East/Africa and Brazil, the best possible connectivity options to multiple Brazilian destinations. The agreement will also underpin people-to-people, investment, trade and tourism ties between Africa and Brazil. As a successful PanAfrican carrier, we are positioned to collaborate with multiple Airlines with a common ambition and joint effort to expand our footprint to different destinations across the world, and this milestone is a good case in point.”
“The codeshare with Ethiopian Airlines will be very important to strengthen our international presence, especially for customers travelling from Africa/Middle east/ Asia to Brazil. Now they will be able to enjoy the convenience of buying tickets and issuing boarding passes, and experience the excellent service of Azul on flights from our country, “says Marcelo Bento, Azul’s alliances director.
Initially, Ethiopian Airlines may place its code in Azul’s operations from São Paulo (Guarulhos) to Belo Horizonte, Curitiba, Goiania, Porto Alegre, Cuiabá, Foz do Iguaçu and Florianopolis. The routes offer fast and convenient connections for customers leaving Addis Ababa, Ethiopia’s capital, to São Paulo. Moreover, the agreement works reciprocally; allowing both Airlines Customers to enjoy connectivity in their respective Hubs.
Ethiopian Airlines currently flies to more than 100 international passenger and cargo destinations in 5 continents, out of which 55 are in Africa. Azul, in turn, concentrates its two largest distribution centers in São Paulo (Viracopos) and Belo Horizonte with more than 200 departures for more than 80 Brazilian destinations.
