Kolkata, March 31 (IANS): Global airlines companies South African Airways (SAA) and Etihad Airways (EA) on Tuesday said they have commenced a codeshare partnership in India which will enable fliers from India to travel to Johannesburg in South Africa via Abu Dhabi in UAE.

As per the agreement, SAA will codeshare on select EA flights to and fro Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Thiruvananthapuram while EA will codeshare on a select SAA flight from Abu Dhabi to Johannesburg and back.

According to EA, in addition to the codeshare flight, the passengers can also avail alternate service on-board between Abu Dhabi and Johannesburg and continue their onward journey to various destinations in South Africa and the African continent using SAA's domestic and regional flights.

"India is an extremely important market for us. A BRICS state, India has significant investments in South Africa and the two countries are witnessing a steady rise in bilateral trade. At the same time, tourism is increasing significantly as well.

"The codeshare agreement will help passengers to fly to South Africa in an easy and convenient manner and boost trade and tourism alike by connecting six cities in India to Johannesburg via Abu Dhabi," SAA's country manager for India Sajid Khan said in a statement.