(Bloomberg) -- Comair Ltd. rose to a 14-month high after the South African airline's budget unit signed a codeshare agreement with Etihad Airways for routes between Johannesburg and coastal cities including Cape Town and Durban.
Comair gained as much as 8.8 percent to 4.20 rand, the highest since July 2015, and traded 6.2 percent higher at 12:38 p.m. in Johannesburg. About 75,000 shares were traded, exceeding the three-month daily average volume. The airline, which operates British Airways-branded flights under a franchise agreement as well as its own low-cost carrier, Kulula.com, has gained 48 percent this year.
Comair's agreement with Etihad follows the breakdown earlier this year of a relationship between the Gulf carrier and South African Airways, which said in February it would cancel a code-sharing pact, citing “route network rationalization.” The unprofitable South African state airline also ended direct flights between its home base in Johannesburg and Abu Dhabi on March 1.
Under the agreement announced on Monday, Etihad travelers will have the option of through-check-in and baggage transfer to their final destination on Kulula flights between Johannesburg and cities that also include George and East London, the companies said in a statement. Sale of the codeshare tickets starts on Monday, for travel beginning Oct. 30.
--With assistance from Deena Kamel Yousef To contact the reporter on this story: Liezel Hill in Johannesburg at lhill30@bloomberg.net. To contact the editors responsible for this story: Tara Patel at tpatel2@bloomberg.net, John Viljoen, Robert Brand
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