ETIHAD AIRWAYS PARTNERS WITH GOOGLE TO EASE FLIGHT SEARCH
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Etihad Airways has announced a partnership with Google to make it more convenient for travellers to view the airline’s flight schedules and fares on the search engine’s flight search tool. Using Flight Search, travellers in the US, Canada, the UK, the Netherlands, Spain, France, Italy, Germany, Poland and Ireland will be able to explore and compare flights to and from any of Etihad Airways’ 103 destinations, and view live ticket prices for more than 1,400 of the airline’s weekly flights.
Peter Baumgartner, Chief Commercial Officer, Etihad Airways, said, “We are delighted to announce this major and growing partnership with Google, which will enable us to give guests convenient and full access to our flight information via their preferred search engine.”
Nicola Simionato, General Manager, Google Travel in Europe, said, “Etihad Airways has grown quickly into a formidable and popular airline, and we are delighted they are joining the Google Flight Search family. Travellers across the world will now be able to quickly and easily find and compare the best Etihad Airways flights within the fun and easy-to-use Google Flight Search tool.”
Flight Search can be accessed by clicking on “Flights” on the navigation bar on Google’s search results page, by going directly to the Google homepage, or by entering the flight search terms on Google and then clicking on the sponsored unit that appears. Once users are on the Google Flight Search tool, they are able to quickly and easily conduct searches for different flight routings, use an interactive map to explore possible destinations and view live ticket prices.
Once users have selected the flights they want, they can click the “Book” button to proceed to the Etihad Airways website to purchase their tickets without having to fill in their flight choices again. Flight Search can be accessed on tablets, smartphones and desktop computers.
Furthermore, Melbourne City Football Club has announced Etihad Airways as its new principal partner. The five-year deal and new team kit were unveiled by Scott Munn, Chief Executive Officer, Melbourne City FC and James Hogan, President and Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Airways, at the football club’s AAMI Park home stadium.
Hogan said, “Etihad Airways and the City of Melbourne have a special relationship. It’s not only one of the most popular destinations in our global network, it is also the home of Etihad Stadium, Melbourne’s premier sports and entertainment precinct. Our new partnership with Melbourne City FC further strengthens our ties with this great city and, we hope, will support the Club and its army of fans in their bid to win the Hyundai A-League. It’s also a valuable addition to our portfolio of sporting partnerships which includes Barclays Premier League champions, Manchester City FC, and their home ground at Etihad Stadium in Manchester.”
Munn stated, “We are very excited about what we are building here at Melbourne City and this new partnership with Etihad Airways underlines our growing potential both on and off the pitch.”
In addition to the branding opportunities, Hogan and Munn also spoke of the broader initiatives that Etihad Airways and Melbourne City FC will work on together which include football schools for children, regular fan competitions, and promotional airfares for Club members and fans.