airberlin and Etihad Airways to expand partnership in 2014

airberlin and Etihad Airways announced (13-Jan-2014) an expansion of their partnership, as well as unveiling an A320 aircraft in a new joint livery. The strengthening of the carriers' partnership in 2014 will include the expansion of joint sales operations, with a new "Moving Forward" media campaign to run in Germany from Jan-2014 through Mar-2014, featuring a new partnership logo. The carriers will increase Germany-Abu Dhabi operations to 49 weekly frequencies in Feb-2014, with the launch of a second daily Munich service. 563,000 common codeshare passengers travelled on the carriers' networks in 2013, a 74% increase on 2012. airberlin CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer said: "The comprehensive commercial partnership with Etihad Airways has brought many benefits to airberlin, including our shares of joint revenues of EUR200 million, which is integral part of our turnaround programme. Partnerships are vital in today's aviation industry. Our partnership provides significant benefits to Etihad Airways, airberlin, as well as to our guests. Not only do we provide an expanded offering of destinations and services, we also have developed synergies through the entire value chain. This means an increasingly attractive offer with numerous benefits for customers, and continuously improved productivity and lower costs. The positive response from our guests illustrates that we are on the right path." Etihad Airways president and CEO James Hogan added: "Since the launch of the partnership two years ago, commercial ties between Etihad Airways and airberlin have deepened significantly. This has increased the destinations and flight options for guests and enabled both airlines to carry nearly 900,000 guests across the two networks. During this time airberlin's new business strategy has made great progress and Etihad Airways continues to place its full support behind the airline and its management. We are confident that airberlin is on the right path back to profitability and the next phase in the airline's proud history." Mr Prock-Schauer also stated: "We shall continue to expand the joint route network with Etihad Airways and look forward to offering airberlin guests new codeshare destinations in India, Australia and South Korea." [more - original PR]