Etihad asks court to allow code share with Air Berlin
FRANKFURT, October 23, 2015
Etihad Airways said it had asked a German court to grant a temporary injunction on Friday so it could go ahead with code-share flights with Air Berlin without approval from transport authorities.
Time has been running out for the two airlines as Air Berlin's winter schedule, including 65 code-share flights with Etihad, is due to begin on October 25.
"As the German authorities have not made any decision yet, Etihad saw no alternative to pre-emptively filing for a temporary injunction with the administrative court in Braunschweig," Etihad, which owns 29.2 per cent of Air Berlin, said in a statement.
Code-share agreements allow airlines to sell tickets for flights operated by partners, enabling both to offer more destinations to their customers.
The German government approved the code-shares for last winter and this summer but has yet to agree to the upcoming schedule.
It is scrutinising 29 code-share routes between cities such as Berlin and Stuttgart to Abu Dhabi.
Etihad said on Friday passengers of Air Berlin and Etihad had already booked more than 82,000 trips on these routes. - Reuters
