16 Dec 2016 18:00
Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates and Lufthansa German Airlines, part of Europe’s largest airline group, today announced the conclusion of a codeshare agreement. The arrangement is set to start in January 2017, subject to government approval.
The
wet-lease agreement between Lufthansa Group and airberlin – in which Etihad
Aviation Group indirectly holds a 29 per cent stake – was also announced today.
Lufthansa’s point-to-point carrier Eurowings and Austrian Airlines, a Lufthansa
Group airline, 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. The leases have been agreed at competitive rates.
Under
the codeshare agreement, the German airline will place its ‘LH’ code on Etihad
Airways’ twice daily non-stop flights between its home base of Abu Dhabi and
Frankfurt and its twice daily non-stop services between Abu Dhabi and Munich,
the biggest city in southern Germany.
The
UAE’s national airline will, in turn, put its ‘EY’ code on Lufthansa’s
long-haul, non-stop intercontinental services between its home base of
Frankfurt, the business and commercial capital of Germany, and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
as well as Bogota, Colombia.
James
Hogan, President and Chief Executive Officer, 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.
“Additionally,
we are, in our role as a minority shareholder in airberlin, fully supportive of
the separate agreement reached today with the Lufthansa Group to wet lease 38
airberlin aircraft.
“It
is very clear to us at Etihad Airways that Lufthansa is a like-minded, forward
thinking organisation with which we can do strong, meaningful and mutually
beneficial business.”
Carsten
Spohr, Chairman of the Board and CEO, Lufthansa Group, said:
“We are looking forward to partnering with the
Etihad Aviation Group. The wet-lease contract with airberlin fosters the growth
of our Eurowings Group. The codeshare agreement of Lufthansa and Etihad will
offer our customers more benefits and complement both airlines’ networks. We
will consider extending our cooperation in other areas.”