Etihad Airways and Air France-KLM have signed a major codeshare agreement starting October 28, which will bolster Etihad’s presence within mainland Europe and allow Air France-KLM the opportunity to strengthen its market reach in the Subcontinent and Australia.
Initially, the Abu Dhabi-based carrier’s EY code will be placed on Air France flights between Paris Charles de Gaulle airport and Bordeaux, Copenhagen, Madrid, Nice and Toulouse, as well as on KLM flights between Amsterdam and Abu Dhabi, Billund, Cardiff, Newcastle, Oslo and Stavanger.
Air France will initially place its AF code on Etihad Airways flights between Abu Dhabi and the Seychelles, Maldives, Colombo, Dhaka, Kathmandu and Islamabad, while KLM will initially place its KL code on Etihad flights between Abu Dhabi and Sydney, Melbourne, Islamabad, Colombo and Lahore.
The deal also sees Air France-KLM form a new codeshare agreement with Air Berlin, Europe’s sixth largest airline, in which Etihad Airways holds a 29.2 per cent stake. This will allow passengers to fly on each other's routes within Europe.
Etihad said in a statement today that the move was the first phase of a “much larger strategic partnership”.
James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ CEO, said the signing of its 40th - and arguably, most high-profile - codeshare offers "countless opportunities to develop an unrivalled commercial relationship".
“It reflects the core elements of Etihad Airways’ 10-year master plan, driven by organic network growth, combined with the forging of strategic codeshare partnerships and minority equity investments in other airlines,” said Hogan.
“The linking together of these three components, as we continue to strengthen our bilateral agreements, means all the pieces of our plan are coming together.”
Collectively, the two airline groups expect to carry more than 85 million passengers in 2012.
Hogan claimed the deal enables it to further extend its global reach and provides a combined network of 321 destinations, "the largest of any Middle East carrier".
The tie-up will enable Etihad and KLM to be more competitive on the increasingly competitive Australasian sectors, following the announcement of the Emirates-Qantas partnership, which is scheduled to go into effect in April.
This latest codeshare deal allows Etihad and Air France to compete more forcefully with Emirates in Europe, where the Dubai carrier already flies to Newcastle, Madrid and Amsterdam, and will start flights to Lyon in December.
Hartmut Mehdorn, CEO of Air Berlin, added that the partnership will add “interesting services” and more choice for its passengers.
“In this way we will considerably strengthen our presence in the European market and link our Berlin hub to even more destinations,” he said.
The new strategic partners will work together on the proposed integration of frequent flyer programs which includes reciprocal ‘earn-and-burn’ privileges for 1.5 million Etihad Guest members and 21 million Air France-KLM Flying Blue frequent flyers across the combined networks.
Other potential areas of co-operation include joint procurement, as well as maintenance and repair collaboration, as both carriers identify cost savings and seek to benefit from economies of scale.
etihad.com
airfranceklm.com
airberlin.com