Air Europa-Etihad codeshare links LatAm to Asia Pacific: Etihad again challenges alliance status quo

The new codeshare agreement announced this week by Air Europa and Etihad is clearly based on each party gaining access to parts of the other's network that complement their own. Air Europa will link its Madrid hub to Etihad's in Abu Dhabi, giving the latter non-stop access to Spain for the first time (albeit via codeshare), but this deal does not seem to be about Europe.

Air Europa's greatest asset is its Latin American network, where Etihad has only one destination currently. Under the new deal, Etihad will have the widest access to Latin America of the three big Gulf carriers. For its part, Air Europa is currently absent from Asia Pacific and the Middle East, but it will gain better access to these regions through Etihad than its Spanish rival Iberia has through its oneworld partners.

The agreement also casts the spotlight once more on the development of airline alliances. On the surface, this is just another bilateral partnership, but it raises further questions. For example, what does the addition of another codeshare agreement between Etihad and a SkyTeam member mean for that alliance grouping, as the ties grow stronger? How will arch-enemy Delta view its SkyTeam partners' ever-closer friend? And is this new codeshare a precursor to Air Europa's joining the Etihad 'Equity Alliance'?