The agreement between the two carriers aims to capitalise on opportunities to boost tourism to the UAE from source markets by enabling visitors to experience more than one destination in a single itinerary.

This summer, customers of each airline will be able to purchase a single ticket to fly into either Dubai or Abu Dhabi, with a return via the other airport.

The new agreement also provides travellers planning to visit the UAE with the flexibility of one-stop ticketing for their full journey and baggage check-in.

In the initial stages of the expanded interline, each carrier will focus on attracting visitors to the UAE by developing inbound interline traffic from select points in Europe and China.

The arrangement will allow visitors to cover as much ground as possible when exploring Abu Dhabi, Dubai or any other emirate, saving time by removing the need to fly home via their arrival airport. 

Customers travelling into the UAE also have the option of multi-city flights, with the choice to travel from one city on both carriers’ networks, and returning to another point served by either Emirates or Etihad.

Sir Tim Clark, president of Emirates Airline, said: "We are pleased to be working again with Etihad Airways – this time to allow each carrier to offer a new range of seamless travel options in and out of the UAE.

"Emirates and Etihad are leveraging on our strengths to expand our respective customer offerings and boost UAE tourism."