Oneworld carrier Air Berlin has agreed a new tie-up with SkyTeam operator Air France-KLM, including codesharing between the two sides, a deal which also brings in Air Berlin shareholder Etihad Airways.
The agreement trebles Air Berlin's reach within France, enabling it to access Bordeaux, Lyon, Montpellier, Marseille, Nantes and Toulouse. It already serves the two main Paris airports and Nice.
In turn Air France will be able to offer codeshare flights via Berlin Tegel to the Polish cities of Krakow and Gdansk, as well as to Graz in Austria. It will also be able to access Dusseldorf-Dresden and Nice-Vienna.
Air Berlin says the codeshare partnership takes effect from 28 October and adds that there is a "planned expansion" of this relationship in Europe.
The carrier is intending to codeshare with KLM between Amsterdam and Berlin, and extend this tie-up to KLM flights to Edinburgh, Glasgow and Manchester. In return KLM wants to codeshare on routes to Krakow, Gdansk and the Russian city of Kaliningrad.
Etihad Airways has also sealed a codeshare agreement with Air France and KLM. From 28 October the carrier will be able to offer passengers a daily KLM service between Amsterdam and Abu Dhabi. Air France customers will be able to book on Etihad's daily service from Paris Charles de Gaulle to Abu Dhabi.
The codeshare also gives Etihad access to 10 more European destinations and allows it to offer five Asian and Australian destinations to Air France-KLM.
Etihad chief James Hogan says the "linking together of these three components" means "all the pieces of our plan are coming together", and broadens Etihad's reach to 321 destinations.
"These codeshare agreements are a great example of how we and Etihad Airways are working together to identify new commercial opportunities for our mutual benefit," says Air Berlin chief Hartmut Mehdorn.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
