Airberlin receives a vote of confidence from Etihad, but how will the relationship evolve now?

Wolfgang Prock-Schauer and James Hogan, respectively the CEOs of airberlin and Etihad Airways, held a joint press conference in Berlin on 13-Jan-2014. At the conference, they reviewed the progress of their codeshare agreement since 2012 and outlined plans for its development in 2014.

In addition, Mr Hogan took the opportunity to reinforce the rationale behind Etihad's equity alliance strategy ("Global reach is beyond the capability of any single airline"). He also reiterated his airline's support for airberlin ("We are confident that airberlin is on the right path back to profitability and the next phase in the airline's proud history").

The announcements led to an 11% increase in the share price of Air Berlin PLC on the day as investors were cheered by Etihad's vote of confidence in the loss-making German carrier. Nevertheless, the closer co-operation signalled by the two airlines stopped short of what some observers had expected. Further developments cannot be ruled out, however.