Airlines agree to flight share deal

Air France-KLM, Air Berlin and Abu Dhabi flag carrier Etihad, plan to offer passengers access to some of each other’s services from October 28 in a sign of improving relations between European and Gulf carriers.
By The Newsroom
Published 9th Oct 2012, 07:00 BST

A code-share deal with Franco-Dutch airline Air France-KLM will enable Etihad customers to fly on KLM’s daily Amsterdam-Abu Dhabi flight, while Air France customers will be able to travel on the daily Etihad service between Paris and Abu Dhabi, Air France-KLM said in a statement.

At the same time, Air France announced a new code share agreement with Air Berlin, in which Etihad Airways holds a 29.21 per cent stake. The deals are seen as a further step towards improved relations between European carriers and younger state-backed Gulf carriers, which are aggressively growing to gain scale globally.

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The relative success of the Gulf carriers has been met with charges of unfair competition by struggling European and US airlines, but some industry leaders like International Airlines Group chief executive Willie Walsh have backed more alliances between the two camps.

Sources close to the oneworld alliance, which includes IAG’s British Airways and American Airlines, said last week that Qatar Airways will become the first Gulf carrier to join that alliance in a deal to be announced this week.

Etihad, which is in competition with regional rivals Emirates and Qatar Airways, said the deal will be the first phase of a much larger strategic partnership.

The agreement will also offer additional lucrative long-haul routes to Air France-KLM passengers.

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