Etihad Airways has today launched legal action in a bid to overturn a German court’s decision to revoke the approval for 29 of its codeshare flights with Air Berlin.
Last week, the Gulf carrier lost a legal battle in Germany to be allowed to continue selling tickets for some codeshare flights with Air Berlin.
It turned down Etihad’s bid to be allowed to sell 29 flights, which are covered under a codeshare agreement between the two airlines, until the end of the current winter schedule.
This means that the Abu Dhabi airline will not be able to sell tickets on these 29 flights from January 16 until late March when the winter season ends. Although the decision does not affect another 50 routes on which Etihad and Air Berlin also currently codeshare.
Etihad president and CEO, James Hogan, reiterated the airline’s “unwavering support” for Airberlin, saying it remained committed to the German carrier, to competition and to consumer choice for German travellers.
“With Airberlin, we are working to ensure that no traveller suffers as a result of this dispute, and all bookings will be honoured.
“We will fight all the way to protect our investment, to protect our partnership with Air Berlin and to protect competitive choice in German air travel.”
The affected routes are not covered by the current bilateral air traffic rights deal between Germany and the United Arab Emirates.
The German government had allowed the codeshare agreement covering these flights to continue until January 15 so that the airlines could have time to resolve the problem.
Etihad holds a 29.2 per cent stake in Air Berlin as part of the Middle Eastern airline’s strategy of taking minority shareholdings in other carriers to create an “equity alliance” of airlines.
Hogan added: “Unless the German government can show its commitment to support all German companies and German jobs, its reputation as a safe country in which to invest is at stake. Investors need every reassurance that the integrity of their investments in Germany will be respected and protected.
“Etihad Airways is but one investor in one industry. But our experience will serve as a warning to others when it comes to making international investment decisions.
“Make no mistake. Protectionism will undoubtedly harm the investment landscape in Germany.”