Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has agreed to increase its stake in airberlin, Europe’s sixth largest airline, to 29.21%, becoming airberlin’s largest single shareholder. The strategic move, announced December 19th in Berlin by Etihad Airways Chief Executive Officer James Hogan and airberlin CEO Hartmut Mehdorn, connects the airlines’ extensive networks and frequent flyer programs to offer travellers 239 destinations across 77 countries. Etihad will provide five-year financing facilities of up to $255m to support airberlin’s fleet development and future network growth.
Hartmut Mehdorn said: “The strategic partnership with Etihad Airways opens up enormous opportunities for the future of our company. This applies especially to future market development and the realization of synergies. One of the key components of the new partnership is the launch of airberlin services to Abu Dhabi, which will become our new gateway to Asia and Australia.”
