Air Seychelles, the national airline of the Republic of Seychelles, has expanded its codeshare agreement with Etihad Airways to offer travellers easy one-stop connections to the Chinese capital of Beijing, effective 14 June.

The new codeshare deal will see Air Seychelles place its “HM” code on Etihad Airways’ daily service between Abu Dhabi and Beijing, a city of more than 21 million people and the home of six Unesco World Heritage Sites including the Forbidden City and the Great Wall.

The codeshare route is the island carrier’s fourth codeshare connection with Etihad Airways in East Asia after Hong Kong, Seoul in South Korea, and Tokyo and Nagoya in Japan.

Air travellers will have one-stop access between Beijing and Seychelles via Abu Dhabi, which is linked to the tropical island group through double-daily flights with Air Seychelles and Etihad Airways.

Roy Kinnear, Chief Executive Officer of Air Seychelles, said: “Our new codeshare route with Etihad Airways provides guests with convenient travel options to Beijing and reinforces the strong political and economic relations between Seychelles and China.

Air Seychelles was established in 1978 and began long-haul service in 1983. The airline currently offers international flights to Abu Dhabi, Antananarivo, Durban, Düsseldorf, Johannesburg, Mauritius, Mumbai and Paris.