Eithad Aviation Group, the Abu Dhabi carrier’s holding company, is aiming to create a new force in European tourism with the launch of a leisure airline in alliance with one of the biggest travel companies in the world.
The UAE company announced it is in talks with TUI, Germany’s biggest tour company, to set up a new airline focusing on flyers in the wealthy markets of Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
The core of the new airline will be the tourism business of airberlin, Etihad’s 29 per cent partner, which last week underwent a radical restructuring designed to stem years of financial losses.
Airberlin’s tourism operations will be injected into the new company, including 35 aircraft of which some are already operated for airberlin by TUIfly, the airline owned by TUI.
A joint statement from Etihad and TUI said: “This new airline group would serve a broad network of destinations from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.”
The leisure airline group will be supported by the expertise of Etihad Aviation Group, the fastest-growing aviation group in the world, and make use of TUI’s state-of-the-art distribution capacity.
“TUI, Etihad Aviation Group and airberlin intend to finalise an in-principle agreement in due course. Any agreement entered into will be subject to all necessary corporate and regulatory approvals,” the statement said.
The equity holding structure of the new company and financial terms are believed to be under discussion.
TUI, which took over the business of UK tourism groups Thomson Travel and First Choice, is regarded as one of the leading leisure companies in the world, with 75,000 employees and 30 million customers. It has a portfolio of more than 300 hotels, 14 cruise liners, six European airlines with about 140 aircraft and a wide-reaching distribution network of more than 1,800 travel agencies and online portals.
Airberlin is Germany’s second largest airline after Lufthansa. It will exit the tourism aviation business following its recent restructuring to concentrate instead on scheduled short and medium-haul operations in Europe, as well as an expansion of its long-haul business to include more transatlantic flights.
Although the details of the tourism strategy are still being finalised, the new venture could expect to exploit synergies with airberlin’s long-haul routes and Etihad’s existing global network, which includes stakes in six other international airlines.
Last week’s restructuring involves handing over aircraft to Lufthansa and a reduction of the 8,000-strong airberlin workforce by 1,200 to create a “leaner, stronger, fitter” airline.
fkane@thenational.ae
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