Etihad Airways CEO James Hogan has said the carrier will announce new codeshares in the next two weeks designed to strengthen the carrier's position.
Delivering the keynote address at the World Routes 2012 forum in Abu Dhabi, Hogan said the days when airlines had separate reservation systems or revenue management systems were over.
"It's about working smarter and taking more cost out of the business," he said. "Our model isn't about control but cementing partnerships. You have to stretch the network for the consumer."
Etihad has been busy taking minority stakes in Air Berlin, Air Seychelles, Aer Lingus and Virgin Australia and now has 38 codeshares - and that looks set to rise to 40 in October.
Although he didn't elaborate on the latest agreements, he said 27% of its revenues now come from codeshare agreements.
Hogan said the carrier, which made a net profit of $14 million last year, was targeting a turnover of $6.5 billion next year.
Air Seychelles, in particular, has been turned around and is set to "break even this year" following last year's $25 million loss.
Etihad will receive four more aircraft, taking its fleet to 71 by the end of the year. While the industry was embroiled in "tough times", he said airline CEOs had to take the long-term view and work through the economic cycles.
Commenting on the Emirates-Qantas tie-up, he said the "great thing" about the deal is that more people know there's an alternative to the Far Eastern hubs.
“The more people that travel to Dubai, Doha or Abu Dhabi - it's good for all of us,” he said. “When I joined the industry in 1975, in those days you went from Australia to Europe in five or six stops.
“Then we saw the creation of Asian hubs, and it took two stops. Now from the Gulf we can fly to all parts of the world non-stop."