Air France and Etihad Airways are poised to announce a far-reaching code share agreement, which will mark the 40th code share agreement for the Gulf carrier.
Under the terms of the agreement, Etihad Airways and Air France-KLM will offer joint codes on destinations in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia.
Air France has also today announced a new codeshare agreement with airberlin, in which Etihad Airways holds a 29.21% stake.
James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “This deal, Etihad Airways’ 40th codeshare, marks a momentous milestone for both airline groups and 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.
“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.
Hartmut Mehdorn, Chief Executive Officer of airberlin, said: “Our cooperation with the Air France-KLM Group represents another milestone for airberlin in developing a unique, global flight network in conjunction with these world-beating airlines.
“This strategic step will add further interesting services to the choice we can offer our passengers and will have a positive influence on our operations. In this way we will considerably strengthen our presence in the European market and link our Berlin hub to even more destinations.”
Jean–Cyril Spinetta, Air France-KLM Chief Executive Officer, said: “This new partnership between Air France-KLM and Etihad Airways and airberlin reflects our Group’s strategic positioning to ensure the best possible services between Europe and the rest of the world, by developing our network and airline partnerships.
“Working with Etihad Airways allows us to offer our customers a range of new attractive destinations,” Spinetta added.
Codeshare for Air France and Etihad Airways
