After growing into formidable global airlines, the three
major Persian Gulf carriers within the past month each readied partnership
deals with big players. Emirates set the stage in September by announcing a
tie-up with Qantas. On Monday, the Oneworld alliance is expected to officially
introduce Qatar Airways as an incoming member. The last of the three, Etihad
Airways, the national flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates, also on Monday
announced a codeshare deal with Air France-KLM that the companies described as
"the first phase of a much larger strategic partnership."
Air France-KLM also announced a new codeshare deal with
Airberlin, Germany's number two carrier, in which Etihad holds a 29 percent stake, covering "all" of both carriers' flights between France and
Germany. (Airberlin in March officially joined Oneworld, a rival to Air
France-KLM's SkyTeam alliance.)
"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," according to Etihad CEO James Hogan, who noted
that Air France is his airline's 40th codeshare partner. "This deal
enables us to further extend our global reach and now gives us a combined
network of 321 destinations—the largest of any Middle East carrier."
Etihad and Air France-KLM on Oct. 28 will begin sharing
codes across their networks. In the first phase of cooperation with Air
France-KLM, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad will place its code on Air France flights
between Paris Charles de Gaulle and Bordeaux, Copenhagen, Madrid, Nice and
Toulouse, and KLM flights between Amsterdam and Abu Dhabi; Billund, Denmark;
Cardiff and Newcastle in the United Kingdom; and Oslo and Stavanger, Norway.
Air France will place its code on Etihad flights between Abu Dhabi and the
Seychelles; the Maldives; Colombo, Sri Lanka; Dhaka, Senegal; Kathmandu, Nepal;
and Islamabad, while KLM will place its code on Etihad flights between Abu
Dhabi and Sydney, Melbourne, Islamabad, Colombo and Lahore, Pakistan.
Air France-KLM and Etihad also intend to integrate loyalty
programs and cooperate on procurement, maintenance and other cost-saving areas.