Air Serbia, the national airline of Serbia, today announced an expansion of its codeshare partnership with equity partner Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, to offer a double daily service between Belgrade and Colombo, Sri Lanka, via Abu Dhabi.

Under the agreement, commencing from 30 July 2014, Air Serbia will place its JU flight code on Etihad Airways’ double daily services between Abu Dhabi and Colombo.

Etihad Airways and Air Serbia already codeshare on each other’s services between Belgrade and Abu Dhabi, combined offering a double daily frequency between the two cities.

In addition to Abu Dhabi, the codeshare agreement currently covers six other popular destinations on the Etihad Airways network: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Kuwait and the Seychelles.

Dane Kondić, Chief Executive Officer of Air Serbia said: "We are delighted to expand our codeshare agreement with Etihad Airways, through which we are now in the position of offering travellers premium services and seamless connectivity between Serbia and Sri Lanka, via Abu Dhabi.

“Enhancing connectivity and increasing choice for our guests reinforces our strategy to build a leading regional airline with a wide network of attractive destinations.”

The codeshare service will facilitate travel between Sri Lanka and Serbia in full compliance with the Air Service Agreement between Sri Lanka and Republic of Serbia signed on 10 June 2014.

Sri Lanka, once considered the lost paradise, is filled with beautiful landscapes, rising mountains, thick forests and gushing waterfalls while the golden beaches have been praised for their picture postcard views.

Colombo, boasting a population of around 650,000, is the largest city and commercial centre of Sri Lanka. The city is home to a majority of the country’s corporate offices, restaurants and entertainment venues, as well as famous landmarks such as Galle Face Green, the Viharamahadevi Park and the National Museum.

Air Serbia’s Belgrade-Abu Dhabi route is operated by a two-class Airbus A320 aircraft, configured to carry 155 guests, with 8 seats in Business Class and 147 seats in Economy Class. In line with the airline’s new livery and modern aircraft, the onboard service proposition has also been refreshed with new menu options, a complimentary bar service and improved inflight entertainment offering more choices for guests flying with Air Serbia.

Etihad Airways re-launched its Colombo operations in January 2010 and currently operates a double daily service between Abu Dhabi and the Sri Lankan capital using a two-class Airbus A320 aircraft.

The new codeshare flights can be purchased by calling Air Serbia’s Call Centre at 0800 11 528 (free calls within the Serbian land line and mobile network), +381 11 311 21 23 for calls from abroad, by visiting Air Serbia official website www.airserbia.com, or by visiting any of Air Serbia’s offices or authorized travel agents.