An Etihad airways flight attendant stands in front of the new Etihad A380 Airbus superjumbo at Abu Dhabi airport.

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has signed a codeshare agreement with Aerolíneas Argentinas, one of South America’s leading airlines.

Effective Feb. 1, the agreement will offer Etihad Airways’ guests greater access to South America via Aerolíneas Argentinas’ Buenos Aires hub.

As part of the agreement, Etihad Airways will place its ‘EY’ flight code on Aerolíneas Argentinas’ operated flights across the Argentinian airline’s extensive domestic network, as well as to key destinations in South America including Uruguay, Chile and Paraguay.

Guests will be able to travel on Etihad Airways’ marketed flights to Buenos Aires and from there to 20 popular destinations in South America including: Asuncion, Bariloche, Bahia Blanca, Comodoro Rivadavia, Cordoba, El Calafate, Iguazú, Mar del Plata, Mendoza, Montevideo, Neuquén, Rio Gallegos, Rio Grande, Rosario, Salta, San Juan, Santiago de Chile, Trelew, Tucuman and Ushuaia.

Flights under the codeshare agreement can be booked from mid-January 2015 via travel agents or through the airlines’ sales offices and contact centres.

Etihad Airways’ President and CEO James Hogan, said: “Codeshares are a fundamental pillar of Etihad Airways’ strategy and our new commercial partnership with Aerolíneas Argentinas is a significant development for both airlines.”

He said: “We are now able to enhance our business and leisure travel offering between the UAE, Argentina and onwards to the strategically important South American market.”

Aerolineas Argentinas’ President and CEO, Mariano Recalde, said: “We are delighted to sign this agreement with Etihad Airways, which offers its passengers enhanced connectivity within Argentina and the Southern Cone of the Americas, through the extensive Aerolineas network.”

In June 2013, Etihad Airways launched non-stop flights between Abu Dhabi and São Paulo, the airline’s first destination in South America.

The flights currently offer 3,360 seats per week between the two cities and connect to 31 destinations across North Africa, the Arabian Gulf, the Indian Subcontinent and Asia.

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