Etihad and Lufthansa have announced a codeshare agreement, starting January 2017.
The deal will see the German airline place its ‘LH’ code on Etihad’s daily non-stop flights between Abu Dhabi and Frankfurt and Munich.
The UAE’s national airline will, in turn, put its ‘EY’ code on Lufthansa’s long-haul, intercontinental services between Frankfurt, the business and commercial capital of Germany, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil as well as Bogota, Colombia.
A ‘wet-lease’ deal between Lufthansa Group and Airberlin – in which Etihad holds a 29 per cent stake – was also confirmed. Lufthansa’s point-to-point carrier Eurowings and Austrian Airlines have signed an agreement to wet lease 38 aircraft from airberlin. 33 of these aircraft are to be operated for the Eurowings Group, an additional five aircraft are to be flown for Austrian Airlines.
The agreement has a term of six years and becomes effective from February 2017 subject to any regulatory requirements.
James Hogan, president and CEO, Etihad Aviation Group, said: “We have long seen Germany as a key strategic market for Etihad Aviation Group and this new relationship with Lufthansa marks the next step in our commitment to the leading European aviation group.
“Lufthansa is highly respected globally and I’m very pleased that we will work together in the future for the benefit of our customers."