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Etihad gets temporary nod for Air Berlin codeshare

ABU DHABI, October 24, 2015

UAE national airline Etihad Airways has welcomed a German court ruling allowing it to continue operation of all its codeshare flights with Air Berlin to destinations in Europe, the US and the UAE.

Codeshare agreements allow airlines to sell tickets for flights operated by partners, enabling both to offer more destinations to their customers and bring in extra revenue.

Etihad Airways said it had applied for the injunction to help protect the German carrier’s 8,000 employees and provide the passengers who have booked more than 82,000 journeys with clarity and confidence.

The Abu Dhabi carrier pointed out that it was forced to launch this legal action as Germany’s Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure had still not approved Etihad's codesharing on the airberlin services during the IATA Winter 2015/2016 schedule, which begins in just two days’ time on October 25.

The German government had previously approved all 65 codeshare routes between Etihad and Air Berlin since 2012, but last year said that around 29 routes weren’t covered by an air traffic agreement between the two countries.

Under that accord, UAE carriers may fly to four airports in Germany but those do not include the capital, Air Berlin’s home hub.

The government had approved the Air Berlin and Etihad codeshare flights on last winter and this summer’s schedule as “exceptions” while it negotiated with the UAE.

“Etihad Airways has for the last and final time been awarded the right to these code shares until January 15 in order to ensure that passengers who have already bought tickets are not inconvenienced,” a transport ministry spokesman said.

The injunction, which is valid until November 8, provides an opportunity for the parties to resolve outstanding differences through ongoing consultation between the governments of the UAE and Germany, it stated.

Etihad said the airline as well as its partner airberlin will continue to honour all flights and passenger travel arrangements will remain entirely unaffected.
 
Before approving the flights for what it said was the last time, the German transport ministry said Etihad and Air Berlin have until mid-January to find a workaround for their disputed codeshare flights.

"The failure by the German Government to approve the codeshares in time, would severely, and possibly terminally, damage airberlin, Germany’s second-largest airline, of which Etihad Airways owns 29.2 per cent," stated Etihad Airways president and CEO James Hogan.

"The codeshare routes in question, including flights to our hub in Abu Dhabi, were among 65 previously approved by Germany’s civil aviation authority, the LBA, and a key reason that we invested in airberlin," he stated.
 
“Since 2012, our codeshare partnership has enabled more than two million passengers to connect between the networks of both airlines, and contributed 252 million euros to airberlin’s earnings. Etihad Airways has delivered 1,365,487 passengers to airberlin, while airberlin connected 645,157 passengers onto flights operated by Etihad Airways,” he added.
 
Since 2012, the LBA and the Ministry of Transport have approved seven Etihad Airways schedules, including all of the codeshares with airberlin, on the basis of the Air Services Agreement signed by the UAE and Germany in March 1994 and the Agreed Minutes and Revised Route Schedule signed in June 2000.
 
A dispute arose in August 2014 because of a unilateral change of opinion by the Ministry of Transport, concerning the codeshare provisions of those bilateral agreements, stated Hogan.

"In addition to the damage it would cause to airberlin, the withdrawal of approval for codeshare services on 29 routes would critically reduce consumer choice within and beyond Germany, and cause massive inconvenience to passengers, including during the peak Christmas and New Year travel periods. More than 82,000 journeys have been booked on these flights during the next six months," he observed.
 
Also, Hogan said connectivity will be lost or diminished to a range of destinations throughout the Middle East, Indian sub-continent, Asia and Australia, as these codeshare flights are directly linked to Etihad Airways’ services beyond Abu Dhabi.

“Business people, tourists and families travelling between these destinations and Germany will be faced with less choice and higher costs,” he added.-TradeArabia News Service




Tags: Etihad | Germany | codeshare | Air Berlin |

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