At a press conference, today held in Abu Dhabi CEO of Etihad Aviation Group James Hogan and CEO of Lufthansa Group Carsten Spohr announced plans to greater enhance their partnership.
For a few weeks, there have been many rumors about a possible merge between the airlines or even Etihad joining Star Alliance, but both have been false.
Lufthansa A380 (Image – Lufthansa)
Per Etihad,
“This partnership is the platform for a much wider strategic collaboration between our two organisations. It demonstrates the commitment of the Etihad Aviation Group Board and Abu Dhabi to our European growth strategy.”
What was announced today?
- Etihad signed a four year 100 million US dollar contract to use LSG catering everywhere outside of their home base of Abu Dhabi
- Etihad will now arrive and depart from Lufthansa’s terminals in both Frankfurt and Munich, which could mean First and Business passengers could use their respective lounges
- Etihad will now use Lufthansa Technik for all repairs and maintenance as well as it’s airline equity partners
- Codeshared flights between Frankfurt, Munich and Abu Dhabi will go on sale from February 1. Further routes will follow in the future
Etihad A380
How the codeshare will work:
Etihad will place Lufthansa’s airline code (LH) on it’s flights to both Frankfurt and Munich from Abu Dhabi.
Lufthansa will place Etihad’s airline code (EY) on it’s flights to Rio de Janeiro and once approved by the government Bogota from Frankfurt. You may remember in December Etihad announced they will be pulling out of Rio.
