Etihad takes flight as CSK's official sponsor!

Gulf carrier Etihad Airways on Thursday entered into an agreement with the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to become its official sponsor.

The partnership will cover CSK's events and platforms, while its players' jerseys will display the Etihad logo, the carrier said.

The collaboration with the five-time champion of the Indian Premier League (IPL), comes close on the heels of Etihad roping in Bollywood actor Katrina Kaif as its brand ambassador, it said.

Etihad started flying into India 20 years ago and has been investing here from day one, be it in deploying the best planes here or customising local palette to customers across the 10 cities where we are operating, Etihad Airways Chief Revenue Officer Arik De said.

"So, the investment that we are announcing today is about CSK. Cricket is a huge part of this country and deepening that relationship for us is super important," De told PTI in an interaction.

The partnership with CSK was announced at Kalaivanar Arangam in Chennai in the presence of team officials and CSK players, who joined the Etihad cabin crew on stage wearing their new jerseys and displaying the airline's logo.

"It is going to be a pretty deep partnership and we are going to unravel it slowly like a nice Bollywood movie unravelled itself," De said.

"In the initial part, we are going to have a visibility in the stadium through a hospitality suite. We're going to be the sponsors for the T-shirt (and) the back of the T-shirt. So that's what how we going to kick it off," he said.

According to him, Etihad chose CSK for the sponsorship as the team has won the IPL championship five times since the tournament commenced in 2008, and the airline has won five World Best Airline awards.

"So this is a journey that we are on together and there is going to be a lot more in this space," he said.

"This (partnership) is also about making sure that we create a relationship that not only welcomes people but also deepens the market share. We are one of the leading airlines of India in terms of market share and we do not intend to go away from that track given our growth," he said.

CSK Chief Executive Officer Kasi Viswanathan in a statement said, "This collaboration goes beyond the boundaries of a traditional sponsorship. It's about creating an extraordinary experience for our fans and setting new standards in sports partnerships."