Etihad to commence Abu Dhabi to Jaipur flights

by Devesh Agarwal

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, will launch a daily service from Abu Dhabi to Jaipur commencing on April 1, 2014. With Jaipur, Etihad will serve ten destinations in India Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mumbai, New Delhi and Trivandrum.

Etihad will operate the service with an Airbus A320 aircraft in a two-class configuration, 16 Pearl Business Class seats and 120 Coral Economy Class seats.

Flight EY208 will depart Abu Dhabi at 23:00 arrive Jaipur 03:45 next morning
Flight EY207 will depart Jaipur at 04:45 arrive Abu Dhabi 06:45

The schedule is targeted to carry passengers onwards to African, European and North American destinations.

Post its 24% stake purchase in Jet Airways, which was coincidentally at the same time the Indian UAE (Abu Dhabi) bilateral air services agreement increased seat allocation by 300%, Etihad has been aggressively expanding to new destinations in India, and increasing the frequency and aircraft on its existing services to the country. It has already tripled the number of seats on the prime Abu Dhabi – Mumbai and Abu Dhabi – New Delhi routes.

The gulf carrier also intends to codeshare on a wide range of Jet Airways flights operated within India, and between India and Abu Dhabi, subject to regulatory approval.

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Etihad triples seats to Mumbai and Delhi, announces massive increase in India flights

by Devesh Agarwal

Etihad Airways has wasted no time in capitalising on its recent bonanza of seat quota increase under the new India UAE (Abu Dhabi) bi-laterial air services agreement (BASA).

It has announced a massive increase in flights to most of its destinations in India. Specifically

• Mumbai and New Delhi: from 7 to 14 flights per week with immediate effect
• Kochi: from 7 to 14 flights per week from June 2014
• Bangalore and Chennai: from 7 to 14 flights per week from July 2014
• Hyderabad: from 7 to 14 flights per week from October 2014

Cocking a snoot at the on-going legal proceedings challenging the BASA and Etihad's 24% stake investment in Jet Ariways, the gulf carrier has doubled the number of flights and tripled the number of seats between Abu Dhabi and Mumbai and New Delhi.

Etihad Airbus A330-200. Image copyright Vedant Agarwal. All rights reserved. Used with permission.

Under the expanded schedules, effective immediately, new mid-afternoon services to Mumbai and New Delhi are operated with single-aisle Airbus A320s, each seating 136 passengers, and existing late evening departures have been upgraded to larger aircraft.

On the Abu Dhabi-Mumbai route, the evening flight is now operated with 292-seat Airbus A340-600 aircraft, seating 12 passengers in Diamond First Class, 32 in Pearl Business Class and 248 in Coral Economy. This will add 2,044 seats per week from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai, taking the total from 952 to 2,996 seats in each direction – just over triple the previous capacity.

On the Abu Dhabi – New Delhi route, the evening service has been upgraded to a 254-seat Airbus A330-200 aircraft, seating 18 guests in Business Class and 236 in Economy. This will add 1,778 seats per week to and from New Delhi, increasing from 952 seats to 2,730 in each direction – almost triple the previous capacity.

Etihad A340-600. Photo courtesy Wikipedia. Photo copyright Maarten Visser. Used under CC license.

On the Chennai and Kochi routes, from June 2014 Etihad will upgrade its aircraft to Airbus A321s, seating 174 passengers from the existing A320s which seat 136 passengers. There is no mention of any aircraft change at Bangalore where Etihad operates a daily A320, where both its fellow gulf competitors Emirates and Qatar Airways operate A330 and Boeing 777 wide-body services.

Outlining a strategy to use Abu Dhabi as a hub to funnel-in passengers from India on to Europe, US, middle-east and Africa, James Hogan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways said

“India is one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing air travel markets, and will play an increasingly important role in our growth,” “Subject to receiving regulatory approvals, we will continue to expand our Abu Dhabi – India operations and work with our growing stable of partners to accommodate strong growth and deliver much greater choice for travel to and from India.” “Through our purchase of 24 per cent of Jet Airways – the first foreign investment permitted in an Indian airline – we have laid the foundations for major and exciting growth in air services between Abu Dhabi and India, and beyond throughout our global network,”

The new Etihad Airways flights will also be marketed by Jet Airways as an extension of the airlines’ existing codeshare partnership.

This is just a preview of what India can expect from all three gulf carriers in the years to come. With their hundred billion dollar aircraft orders, one shudders to think of the sheer capacity these airlines will add in the next decade; and the capacity they will be able to dump in the Indian market.

Etihad's actions are bound to have impact on national carrier Air India who is trying to expand services to Europe and North America in its revival efforts. Fellow gulf majors Emirates and Qatar Airways will also start feeling the pinch. It remains to be seen what strategy Etihad adopts to start filling those 200% extra seats, though pricing is a sure-fire way to the Indian passenger's heart.

Share your thoughts on this development via a comment.

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Jet Airways and Garuda Indonesia sign code share agreement

Jet Airways and national flag carrier Garuda Indonesia have concluded a code share agreement for connectivity between India and Indonesia.

Under the arrangement, using Singapore as a hub, Jet Airways will place its marketing code on Garuda Indonesia’s flights between Singapore and Jakarta and Garuda will place its marketing code on Jet Airways’ flights between Singapore and Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai.

The two airlines have also signed a frequent flyer partnership, allowing members of each others loyalty programs to accrue and redeem mileage on the code-share flights, the entire domestic network of Garuda Indonesia, and on Jet Airways' complete network, domestic and international.

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DOT fines ticket agents for code-share disclosure violations

By BA Staff

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today fined two ticket agents for violating the Department’s rules on disclosure of code-share flights. DOT issued a $125,000 fine against Carlson Wagonlit Travel and a $65,000 fine against Frosch International Travel, and both companies were ordered to cease and desist from further violations. The amount of the fines was based on the specific circumstances of the individual cases. Today’s consent orders are part of an ongoing effort by DOT to ensure that ticket agents comply with the code-share disclosure rules.

 U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said:

“No one wants to arrive to their gate and learn for the first time that the airline they thought was operating their flight actually sold them a ticket for another airline. We will continue to make sure that all companies selling air transportation are transparent with consumers and will take enforcement action when they fail to disclose code-sharing arrangements.”

Under code-sharing, an airline sells seats on flights using its designator code, but the flights are operated by a separate airline.

In this case, DOT’s Aviation Enforcement Office made telephone calls to a number of agents during January and February of 2013 and inquired about booking certain flights. During these calls, the reservations agents for both companies failed to disclose that the flights were being operated under code-share arrangements. The agents identified only the name of the airline marketing the flight and not the name of airline operating the flight. This violated DOT rules requiring airlines and ticket agents to inform consumers if a flight is operated under a code-share arrangement, as well as disclose the corporate name of the transporting airline and any other name under which the flight is offered to the public.

DOT takes enforcement action when necessary against companies that sell air transportation based on consumer complaints and the Department’s own internal investigations. DOT has now issued six fines for code-sharing violations this year, totaling $430,000.

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United States grants approval to Etihad-Jet Airways code share request

by Devesh Agarwal

On September 4th, Etihad Airways and Jet Airways had petitioned the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) to authorise them to code share i.e. put their marketing codes on each other airlines' flights. Download the original petition in PDF format here or scroll to end of the article to view it and the approval letter.

Etihad requests a blanket Statement of Authorization to permit it to display Jet Airways' "9W*" designator code on any current or future US-United Arab Emirates services operated by Etihad (These may be either nonstop services or services operated via an intermediate point or points; as such, codesharing will not necessarily take place on segments directly to/from the operating carrier's homeland).

Jet Airways requests a blanket Statement of Authorization to permit it to display Etihad's "EY*" designator code on any current or future US-India services operated by Jet Airways.

Initially, Etihad will display the 9W* code on flights operated by Etihad between Abu Dhabi on the one hand and Chicago, New York (JFK) and Washington, DC (IAD) on the other hand, for purposes of carrying Jet Airways' traffic between India and the United States on a blind-sector basis. Jet Airways will display the EY* code on flights operated by Jet Airways between Brussels, which is served as an intermediate point on its India-US services, and Newark, for purposes of carrying Etihad's traffic between the United Arab Emirates and the United States on a blind-sector basis.

The USDOT has provided its approval to the request.

The request though seems to be in conflict with the commercial cooperation agreement that is signed between the two airlines. The agreement reportedly states that Jet Airways will not fly to those destinations already served by Etihad, especially on the west-bound direction, except via Abu Dhabi, the base of Etihad.

The lucrative United States is one of the territories that fall under this. Jet has proposed flights from Mumbai, Delhi, and Bangalore via Abu Dhabi to New York, Newark, and Chicago. So will Jet Airways' current service from Brussels to the United States continue in the future? In a conference call the senior Jet Airways management called their Brussels hub a "long term engagement".

What are your thoughts? Share a comment.

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Etihad Airways and Korean Air expand codeshare agreement

By BA Staff

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has expanded its codeshare agreement with Korean Air, South Korea’s largest airline, to include six new destinations.

In the second phase of cooperation, Etihad Airways will place its EY code on Korean Air services from Seoul Incheon to Honolulu, Vancouver and Hong Kong. Korean Air will place its KE code on Etihad Airways’ flights from Abu Dhabi to Johannesburg, Muscat and, subject to government approval, Khartoum.

The new arrangements augment the airlines’ existing codeshare services between Abu Dhabi and Seoul Incheon.

Etihad Airways’ President and Chief Executive Officer James Hogan said the expanded codeshare with Korean Air would enable both airlines to grow their networks in a mutually beneficial way and broaden their appeal to world travellers:

“The three new codeshare destinations enhance Etihad Airways’ business and leisure travel offering to the Asia Pacific and North America. The flights to Honolulu and Vancouver, in particular, will provide convenient one-stop access from Abu Dhabi to these two popular North American destinations. This is a natural development of the codeshare agreement with Korean Air which we signed in July this year, and we look forward to broadening the scope of cooperation even further in the future.” 

Mr Hogan noted that Etihad Airways’ strategy of partnerships with airlines such as Korean Air was helping grow tourism from around the world to its Abu Dhabi home and hub:

 “The introduction of new codeshare routes enables us to rapidly expand our network and drive more leisure and business traffic to and through our Abu Dhabi hub. Last year alone, Etihad Airways carried 10.2 million passengers through Abu Dhabi. Increasing international visitors to Abu Dhabi is key to enabling economic growth in the Emirate and helping realise the Government’s visionary Abu Dhabi 2030 plan. We forecast this trend will continue with the opening of new routes from Asia and North America.”

Etihad Airways and Korean Air have had a successful commercial partnership since August 2009 when the airlines signed a special pro rata agreement and interline partnership. The airlines commenced codeshare operations between Abu Dhabi and Seoul Incheon on July 22, 2013.

Members of Etihad Airways’ Etihad Guest and Korean Air’s SKYPASS loyalty programs enjoy reciprocal benefits. These include lounge access, priority check-in and excess baggage allowances for top tier program members and the ability to earn and burn frequent flyer points on Etihad Airways and Korean Air flights.
 

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Virgin Australia expands codeshare on Air New Zealand domestic routes

By BA Staff

Virgin Australia has expanded its codeshare agreement with Air New Zealand, adding its code to an additional 17 routes across New Zealand.

Virgin Australia already codeshares to all Air New Zealand destinations in New Zealand however today’s announcement means that customers now have more choice than ever before on how to get to their destination.

Virgin Australia Chief Commercial Officer Judith Crompton said:

“Following the recent reauthorisation of our trans-Tasman alliance with Air New Zealand, we have expanded our codeshare agreement in order to provide customers with more choice when travelling in New Zealand. We are committed to being the alliance of choice across the Tasman and we will continue to actively review our network and schedule to ensure we are meeting the needs of our customers.” 

The trans-Tasman alliance between Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand was launched in 2011 and was recently reauthorised until October 2018. The alliance has enabled the two airlines to offer consumers a better choice of flights, improved connections and increased capacity across the Tasman.

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GOL and Delta achieve alliance milestones

Atlanta based American full service carrier Delta Air Lines and Brazilian low cost carrier (LCC) GOL Linehas Aereas Inteligentes recently detailed the benefits of their alliance 20 months after its inception. Find the details below.

22nd August, 2013

SAO PAULO, Aug. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Twenty months after Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) and GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes (BM&FBovespa: GOLL4 and NYSE: GOL) announced their enhanced, long-term, exclusive alliance, the companies highlight the milestones achieved.  Delta and GOL leveraged the strengths of both carriers to create additional value by establishing a seamless customer experience.

The Delta and GOL commercial team accomplished its immediate objectives: (1) expand the codeshare agreement; (2) provide additional benefits to the airlines' loyal customers; and (3) offer a consistent experience at airports.   

Codeshare Agreement

"Our strategic partnership with GOL greatly enhances Delta's network, providing access to 23 destinations in Brazil," said Ed Bastian, Delta's president and member of GOL's Board of Directors. "The codeshare will continue to expand pending regulatory approvals. Delta and GOL offer a U.S.-Brazil network unrivaled by any other U.S. flag carrier."

Currently GOL has the ability to offer its customers access to the 5 markets Delta serves between the U.S. and Brazil which are: Brasilia - Atlanta, Rio de Janeiro - Atlanta; and between Sao Paulo and Atlanta, Detroit and New York JFK.  Additionally, GOL's customers from the following local markets currently have access to Atlanta and will soon have access to Detroit and JFK: 

• Belo Horizonte
• Curitiba
• Goiana
• Porto Alegre

The Delta-GOL codeshare agreement provides Delta customers access beyond Brazil as well, including connections to Asuncion, Paraguay and Montevideo, Uruguay.

"We are achieving our goals and this is just the beginning," said Paulo S. Kakinoff, GOL's Chief Executive Officer. "The alliance has driven significant growth in traffic, with 28 percent of all Delta customers that travel to Brazil continuing on their journey with GOL. This represents an increase of nearly 100 percent more traffic year-over-year."

As of July, GOL started to offer Delta flights on GOL's website, voegol.com, Voe GOL stores, GOL's call center and travel agents. The alliance benefits commercial customers with joint contract agreement to serve corporate customers allowing them to have a single contract for service on both carriers.

Furthermore, the airlines have initiated a joint marketing campaign to promote GOL's ability to sell Delta on their channels.  As part of the joint branding efforts, customers traveling with GOL will now see the Delta logo and the phrase "in partnership with Delta" illustrated close to the boarding door of the GOL airplanes.  All GOL planes will soon carry the Delta brand.

Brazil is expected to become the fourth-largest aviation market in the world by 2014, with more than 100 million passengers.  The FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the Summer Olympics in 2016 will spotlight Brazil across the world. 

Airport Co-location and Customer Experience

One of the additional milestones of the alliance is the co-location of the airlines.  In April, Delta moved from Terminal 1, A Wing to Terminal 2 C Wing of the Sao Paulo-Guarulhos International Airport. For GOL and Delta customers co-location increases ease of connectivity and facilitates the process of re-checking bags after clearing customs since gol counters are located immediately after leaving the secured customs area.

"We want to offer our customers a premium check-in area, improved signage to enhance customer experience and an enhanced VIP lounge," Kakinoff said.  "GOL has a significant presence in Brazil's main airports and together with Delta we will continue to provide customers a seamless experience."

Customer Benefits

The alliance set in motion a plan to increase shared benefits to Delta's and GOL's most loyal customers. Along with the ability to accrue and redeem flight awards, Delta customers now enjoy complimentary access to GOL's VIP Lounges in São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro-Galeão International airports.  Likewise, Delta Sky Clubs in Atlanta, New York-JFK and Detroit are available to SMILES Diamond members at no charge. 

GOL's SMILES Diamond elite members have now access to priority check-in and boarding on Delta's flights through Delta's Sky Priority. Delta's Diamond, Platinum and Gold Medallion members have access to the same benefits. Delta's Sky Priority is a series of distinctively branded priority airport services designed for high value customers, allowing them to move quickly through the airport.

"This is a period of rapid growth and transformation for Delta and GOL. Brazil is the leading engine for economic growth in Latin America and an increasingly popular travel destination from the U.S.," said Bastian. "These joint achievements represent furthering Delta's goal to become the best U.S. airline in Latin America and the Caribbean.  Our alliance is based on shared values, leveraging strengths and learning to benefit from each other to better serve our customers."

As part a $3 billion investment in enhanced global products, services and airport facilities, Delta offers fully flat-bed seating with direct aisle access in the BusinessElite cabin on its routes from Sao Paulo to Atlanta and JFK, as well as from Rio de Janeiro to Atlanta. These flights also offer Delta's popular Economy Comfort seating in the forward section of the economy cabin. Economy Comfort offers additional legroom and 50 percent more recline compared to standard economy seats. All cabins offer in-seat audio and video on demand with a broad range of in-flight entertainment options. Delta also will introduce in-flight Wi-Fi service on international flights beginning in 2014.

About GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes SA

GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes S.A. (BM&FBovespa: GOLL4 and NYSE: GOL), the largest low-cost and low-fare airline in Latin America, offers around 970 daily flights to 65 destinations in 10 countries in South America, Caribbean and the United States under the GOL and VARIG brands, using a young, modern fleet of Boeing 737-700 and 737-800 Next Generation aircraft, the safest, most efficient and most economical of their type. The SMILES loyalty program allows members to accumulate miles and redeem tickets to more than 560 locations around the world via flights with foreign partner airlines. The Company also operates Gollog, a logistics service which retrieves and delivers cargo and packages to and from more than 3,500 cities in Brazil and eight abroad. With its portfolio of innovative products and services, GOL Linhas Aereas Inteligentes offers the best cost-benefit ratio in the market.

About Delta Air Lines

Delta is working to become the best U.S. airline in Latin America and the Caribbean and was just recognized with the Best Airline to North America award by Premio Destaque Companhia de Viagem,  by Grupo Companhia.  As part of that goal Delta has established a long-term exclusive alliance with GOL Línhas Aereas Inteligentes investing more than US $100 million in GOL. Likewise, Delta has invested more than US $65 million in Aeromexico as part of a long-term exclusive commercial alliance and entered a code sharing agreement with Aerolineas Argentinas solidifying its footprint in Latin America. Executive Travel magazine recognized Delta with the Gold Leading Edge Award for the Best Flight Experience to Mexico. Delta provides service to 28 countries and 44 destinations in the region offering more than 1,200 weekly flights between Latin America/Caribbean and the U.S. Spanish speaking Delta customers can receive real-time, on-the-go travel assistance in Spanish and Portuguese through its Twitter channels @DeltaAssist_ES and @DeltaAjuda 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. EST. Brazilian customers can also access Delta´s dedicated Brazil Facebook page visiting http://www.facebook.com/DeltaAirLinesBrasil.

Delta Air Lines serves more than 160 million customers each year. Delta was named by Fortune magazine as the most admired airline worldwide in its 2013 World's Most Admired Companies airline industry list, topping the list for the second time in three years. With an industry-leading global network, Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer service to 327 destinations in 63 countries on six continents. Headquartered in Atlanta, Delta employs nearly 80,000 employees worldwide and operates a mainline fleet of more than 700 aircraft. The airline is a founding member of the SkyTeam global alliance and participates in the industry's leading trans-Atlantic joint venture with Air France-KLM and Alitalia. Including its worldwide alliance partners, Delta offers customers more than 15,000 daily flights, with hubs in Amsterdam, Atlanta, Cincinnati, Detroit, Memphis, Minneapolis-St. Paul, New York-LaGuardia, New York-JFK, Paris-Charles de Gaulle, Salt Lake City and Tokyo-Narita. Delta is investing more than $3 billion in airport facilities and global products, services and technology to enhance the customer experience in the air and on the ground. Additional information is available on delta.com, Twitter @Delta, Google.com/+Delta and Facebook.com/delta.

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Air France and KLM partner with Jet Airways to expand India connectivity

Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, have entered in to a unilateral code-share agreement with India's Jet Airways which will allow them to extend their connectivity to Indian cities which are currently not served by them.

At present Air France and KLM operate 27 flights a week to India. Air France has flights from Paris Charles De Gaulle (CDG) to Bangalore, Mumbai and New Delhi, while KLM operates from Amsterdam Schipol to New Delhi. From June 19, 2013, Air France will place its marketing code (AF) on Jet Airways’ domestic flights to Chennai from Bangalore, New Delhi or Mumbai and Kolkata and Hyderabad via Bangalore and Mumbai. Likewise, KLM will place its marketing code (KL) on Jet Airways’ domestic flights to Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad and Mumbai via New Delhi.

The three airlines already have a full fledged network-wide accrual and redemption partnership for their frequent flyer programs, Jet Airways’ JetPrivilege and Air France-KLM’s Flying Blue, for many years.

The announcement did not indicate if there will be a reciprocal code-share arrangement where Jet Airways would put its flight numbers on Air France and KLM operated flights between India and Europe. A spokesperson for Air France indicated the agreement was unilateral. Jet Airways did not respond.

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Jet Airways to lease three Boeing 777-300ERs to Turkish Airlines

by Devesh Agarwal

Sources within Mumbai based Jet Airways indicate the airline has entered into an agreement with Turkish Airlines to dry-lease three of its Boeing 777-300ER (77W) aircraft for one year. The Indian carrier has a total of ten 77Ws in its fleet.

Since 2008, the carrier has found it difficult to effectively utilise these highly popular aircraft. It has been leasing up to 70% of its 777 fleet to various carriers like Gulf Air, Turkish THY Airlines, and Thai Airways. Boeing India chief Dr. Dinesh Keskar attributes this to Jet's small network in comparison to its competition. (Read Dr. Keskar's exclusive interview with Bangalore Aviation.)

At present the airline has five 77W's on lease with Thai Airways. Three of these aircraft will return by June and July 2013 and will be leased to Turkish Airlnes for a one year period. The other two are expected back from Thai in the fourth calendar quarter of this year. At present indications are that Jet plans to use these aircraft on its own network.

It appears the carrier is bullish on its deepening partnership with Abu Dhabi based Etihad and may want to deploy the high capacity 77Ws on select routes. Jet has been negotiating a 24% stake-sale to Etihad. It recently sold its landing slots at London Heathrow airport to the UAE carrier, a sale many consider as selling the family jewels.

There are reports that Jet plans to extend its code-share agreement with Etihad to include the Mumbai-Brussels-Newark route, and the winter season is the peak demand for the year.

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Japan Airlines and Jetstar Japan start codeshare and mileage tie-up

by Devesh Agarwal

Japan Airlines (JAL) will start code-share and mileage program partnership with Jetstar Japan (airline flight code: GK) - a joint-investment with the Qantas Group, Mitsubishi Corporation and Century Tokyo Leasing Corporation.

JAL, which started code-sharing with Jetstar (the Australian LCC) in 2007, on routes between Japan and Australia, will now be codesharing with Jetstar Japan on all its domestic flights for customers connecting to and from JAL's international services at Tokyo (Narita) and Osaka (Kansai) and Nagoya (Chube). JAL will not be selling segments on flights operated by Jetstar Japan that are without connections to JAL's international services.

Customers will be able to create a single itinerary with international and domestic flights with the "JL" code, operated respectively by JAL and Jetstar Japan. This provides a network with a wider choice of flights and timings, as well as faster transfers for customers.

Reservations, sales and JAL mileage redemption of flights operated by Jetstar Japan will begin from February 27, 2013, for flights commencing from March 6, 2013.

JAL Mileage Bank (JMB) members can utilise their accrued mileage to redeem tickets on Jetstar Japan flights. Jetstar Japan will be the 17th airline that JAL has similar arrangements. Other airlines with which JAL has mileage tie-ups are all the oneworld alliance members and their subsidiaries, Air Berlin, American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific, Dragonair, Finnair, Iberia, LAN, Malaysia Airlines, Qantas Airways, Royal Jordanian, S7, and Air France, Emirates, China Eastern, Hokkaido Air Commuter, Bangkok Airways beyond the alliance.

For more details on eligible Jetstar Japan routes and required mileage for redemption, visit the dedicated page on JAL's website.

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Etihad Airways signs code share agreement with Kenya Airways; strengthened ties with SkyTeam?

by Vinay Bhaskara

Abu Dhabi based Etihad Airways has inked a code share with Nairobi based Kenya Airways, expanding access to second and third tier African destinations for its consumers. Etihad Airways will place its code on flights by Kenya Airways to 27 destinations across Kenya Airways' African network. Meanwhile, Kenya Airways will place its code onto 32 onward destinations from Etihad's global hub. The Kenya Airways code will also be placed onto Etihad's daily Abu Dhabi-Nairobi service with 136 seat (16J/120Y) Airbus A320 aircraft, while Kenya Airways will launch a thrice-weekly service Nairobi-Abu Dhabi from mid 2013 onwards.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “The partnership agreement with Kenya Airways is in line with our strategy of forming alliances with airlines around the world to enhance our network and marketing reach. This agreement will also allow both airlines to benefit from cost savings achieved through synergies and economies of scale.

Dr. Titus Naikuni, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Kenya Airways, said: “The new codeshare partnership with Etihad Airways is a significant strengthening of the global network of both airlines, which provides more choice to all our passengers. As part of the agreement we are looking for greater collaboration and coordination on cargo operations, training and procurement opportunities which will make us more cost efficient and customer responsive.”

Code share agreements in and of themselves aren't huge news, but this agreement is notable because it marks increased ties for Etihad with the SkyTeam alliance. After fellow Gulf rival Qatar Airways broke tradition and joined the oneworld alliance, it has become increasingly speculated that Etihad will follow suit and join SkyTeam (Star Alliance is seen as too crowded for another middle-eastern carrier with Turkish Airlines already in the fold).

Etihad now has code share partnerships with nine SkyTeam carriers, including its founder member, Air France. While Etihad touts the benefits of its so-called "equity alliances" composed of its investments and reciprocal codeshares in European LCC airberlin, African regional carrier Air Seychelles, Australian carrier Virgin Australia, and Irish national carrier Aer Lingus, it would undoubtedly benefit from the increased feed provided by membership in a global alliance. While this particular agreement does not mean that a deal is imminent, it does add incrementally to the likelihood of Etihad joining SkyTeam.

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Jet Airways places codeshare on Etihad's Abu Dhabi Paris Charles De Gaulle flight

By Devesh Agarwal

Jet Airways will place its code on Etihad’s flight operating out of Abu Dhabi to Paris Charles de-Gaulle airport with effect from December 10, 2012, offering its India passengers connectivity to Paris, via Abu Dhabi.

The airline’s JetPrivilege members will earn JPMiles for their entire journey when they fly on Jet Airways codeshare flights from India to Paris.

Jet Airways code 9W 6120 /9W 6121 will be placed on Etihad Airways daily flights EY 031/032 from Abu Dhabi to Paris CDG. Flight EY 031 departs AUH at 0215 arrives CDG at 0655. Flight EY 032 departs CDG at 1100 arrives AUH at 2040.

It is not know which flights of Jet from India to Abu Dhabi will connect to the newly code-shared flights. Jet Airways did not respond to our request for information, till the time of publishing this story.

The codeshare to Paris is in addition to the existing codeshare between Jet Airways and Etihad Airways on the Abu Dhabi Mumbai and Delhi routes operated by Jet Airways, and the Abu Dhabi Mumbai / Delhi / Cochin / Thiruvananthapuram / Kozhikode / Chennai / Hyderabad routes operated by Etihad. Yes, Bangalore is missing on both lists.

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Air France-KLM, Etihad, Air Berlin enter in to a code share agreement

The Air France-KLM Group, Etihad Airways, and airberlin will implement code-share agreements as of October 28, 2012, which will offer their respective customers more destinations.

Air France, KLM, and Etihad code-shares

On the routes between Europe and Abu Dhabi, Etihad Airways customers will be able to fly on the Amsterdam-Abu Dhabi daily flight operated by KLM.

Air France customers will be able to travel everyday between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Abu Dhabi on Etihad Airways operated flights.

Beyond their gateways, the code-share agreement offers five destinations each to Air France and KLM passengers on the Asian and Australian market and ten European destinations to Etihad passengers on Air France and KLM.

• Air France passengers will be able to connect through Abu Dhabi for flights to Colombo (Sri Lanka), Dhaka (Bangladesh), Katmandu* (Nepal), Mahe (Seychelles), and Male (Maldives).
• KLM passengers will be able to connect through Abu Dhabi for flights to Colombo (Sri Lanka), Islamabad (Pakistan), Lahore (Pakistan), Melbourne (Australia), and Sydney (Australia).
• Etihad Airways passengers will be able to connect through Paris-CDG airport for flights to
• Bordeaux, Copenhagen, Madrid, Nice and Toulouse under an Air France operated flight, and through Amsterdam-Schiphol to Billund, Cardiff, Newcastle, Oslo, and Stavanger under a KLM operated flight.

airberlin, Air France, KLM code-shares

Air France and airberlin announce a mutual codeshare agreement, allowing customers of either carrier to fly on all the routes operated by the other between France and Germany. Passengers will also be able to connect to some selected destinations via Paris for airberlin, and via Berlin or Düsseldorf for Air France.

• Air France passengers will be able to connect through Berlin-Tegel airport to Krakow (Poland), Gdansk (Poland), Graz (Austria) and from Düsseldorf to Dresden (Germany) on services
• operated by airberlin.
• airberlin passengers will be able to transfer through Paris-CDG and Paris-Orly to Bordeaux, Lyon, Marseilles, Montpellier, Nantes, Nice, and Toulouse on services operated by Air France.
• KLM will codeshare with airberlin on three destinations beyond Berlin: Krakow (Poland), Gdansk (Poland) and Kaliningrad (Russia).
• airberlin will codeshare with KLM on Berlin-Amsterdam routes as well as on Edinburgh (UK), Glasgow (UK) and Manchester (UK) beyond Amsterdam.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ President and Chief Executive Officer, said

“Partnerships are delivering a major source of our revenue growth, by extending our network reach and putting our brand directly in front of millions of new customers. This year to date, they are providing 18 per cent of our revenues and will be a major contributor to our sustained profitability growth this year and into the future.”

The new strategic partners will work together on the proposed integration of frequent flyer programs which includes reciprocal ‘earn-and-burn’ privileges for 1.5 million Etihad Guest members and 21 million Air France-KLM Flying Blue frequent flyers across the combined networks.

Other potential areas of co-operation include joint procurement, as well as maintenance and repair collaboration, as both carriers identify cost savings and seek to benefit from economies of scale, as Etihad Airways is doing with its other strategic partners.

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American and Kingfisher announce codeshare and frequent flier partnership

India's Kingfisher Airlines continues to deepen its member-elect relations with the oneworld alliance. Along with alliance founder American Airlines, it has announced entering in to a code-share and frequent flier program relationship due to commence in 2011.

This agreement finally gives Kingfisher its long awaited access to the US market, one of the biggest destination markets for Indian travellers.

The initial phase of the code-share relationship announced today will allow American to place its AA airline code on Kingfisher's domestic India network beyond New Delhi, and on Kingfisher's Airlines’ flights from London Heathrow to New Delhi and Mumbai. Kingfisher will place its IT airline code on selected American flights between London Heathrow and US destinations (New York JFK, Chicago O'Hare, Los Angeles LAX, Dallas-Fort Worth, Miami, and Raliegh-Durham) and on American's five year old daily non-stop flight between New Delhi and Chicago O’Hare. Read the detailed application to the US Dept. of Transportation Docket Number 2010-0288 (PDF format), and read this article on airlineroute.net for full details on specific sectors.

Initially, members of American’s AAdvantage and Kingfisher Airlines’ King Club frequent flyer programs will be able to earn miles on the codeshare flights. The two airlines are exploring a more comprehensive frequent flyer agreement that will include the ability to earn and redeem miles across each carrier’s network.

What has been left unsaid in this announcement is the impact on the existing code-share and frequent flier program relations American Airlines has with India's Jet Airways. American places its AA airline code on Jet Airways' flights between India and Brussels while Jet Airways places its 9W airline code on American flights Between New York (JFK) Baltimore, Boston, Cleveland, Dallas-Fort Worth, Raleigh-Durham and Washington DC (DCA), and on the same Delhi Chicago non-stop that Kingfisher has announced it will code share on.

It is quite inconceivable that American will have both Jet and Kingfisher place their airline code-shares on their Delhi-Chicago flights. Bangalore Aviation attempted to contact all three airlines to clarify the situation. Both Jet Airways and Kingfisher did not comment, while a request is still pending with American and will be updated if received.

While one can understand that Kingfisher would not want to comment on behalf of American, from an analyst perspective, a lack of response from Kingfisher is compelling. If Kingfisher is already allowing a dilution of its proposed partnership with American, to its primary India competition, Jet, it will give anyone a reason to seriously doubt the cost-benefit ratios the alliance membership accruing to Kingfisher viz-a-vis to what it will have to give up.

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Jet Airways and United Airlines commence their long pending code share agreement

Starting June 30, 2010 Mumbai based Jet Airways, and Chicago United Airlines, will commence their long pending code share agreement.

Under the agreement Jet Airways will place its 9W airline marketing code on United’s trans-Atlantic flights operating between London and United’s five U.S. hub cities: Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington and on United’s daily trans-Pacific services between Hong Kong and Chicago and San Francisco. Jet Airways will also place its airline marketing code on many domestic flights from these hubs to other interior cities in the United States.

In return, United will place its UA airline marketing code on Jet Airways’ twice daily services between London and Mumbai as well as between Jet Airways daily services between Hong Kong and Delhi and Hong Kong and Mumbai. In addition, United will place its marketing code on Jet Airways’ domestic flights between Mumbai and Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Goa, Hyderabad and Kolkata.

Indian carriers only operate to the east coast of the United States, leaving the large traffic between the technology cities of Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chennai and Pune to US technology centres on the West Coast to foreign carriers led by Singapore Airlines, Emirates and Lufthansa. While this is a step in the right direction, it is unsure how well will Jet and United customers accept a two plus stop connection.

Full details including code share flight numbers are available here.

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FAA delays Jet Airways United code share agreement, diplomatic protest launched

The US aviation regulator, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), has delayed permission to a code-sharing agreement between Jet Airways (India) Ltd and United Air Lines Inc., as per the Mint.

The code share agreement would have given Jet Airways passengers access to United’s five hubs of Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington, and access to 20 other cities across the US, while United passengers would have been able to connect to 13 cities in India, including Bangalore, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi.

India currently enjoys a category I status in the United States and the delay in permissions are very surprising. Jet Airways has has lodged a complaint against the delay at India’s civil aviation ministry, which will be taken up by India through diplomatic channels.

The FAA intends to do an IASA (international aviation safety assessment) review of infrastructure and safety procedures followed by India’s regulator, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in the next three months, and India is facing the threat of downgrade to Category II status.

This will surely create relationship problems in the aviation sector, one of the key areas of trade and cooperation between the two countries. The upcoming 126 multi-role fighter aircraft deal, in which Lockheed Martin and Boeing are leading contenders, may also be threatened.

Read the full Mint article.

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Jet Airways and JetLite annouce codeshare on domestic routes

The consolidation in the Indian aviation industry has commenced.

Jet Airways announced, today, it has entered into a codeshare arrangement with JetLite, its wholly-owned, all economy subsidiary as part of its ongoing efforts to offer passengers synergetic benefits when they choose to fly with the Jet group.

As part of the agreement, Jet Airways will place its marketing code (9W) on key domestic routes operated by JetLite (S2), enabling both carriers to offer passengers better connections and a wider network.

Jet Airways’ JetPrivilege members travelling on these codeshare flights* can avail of a range of JP benefits, including the accrual of JPMiles based on class of travel. Moreover, the JPMiles thus earned will be Status JPMiles, and these JPMiles as well as each codeshare flight will also count toward JetPrivilege tier upgrade/ retention. JPMembers will also earn Tier Bonus JPMiles and Online booking bonus for the codeshare flights booked on the Jet Airways website.

Jet Airways Citibank Co-brand Credit Cardholders can use their companion discount vouchers on codeshare routes on applicable booking classes. Exclusively for Platinum members, there will be a waiver of cancellation charges on all these codeshare flights.*

Commenting on the codeshare, Mr. Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, Chief Executive Officer, Jet Airways said, “The codeshare agreement with JetLite will enable both carriers to optimally leverage their respective networks, offering passengers enhanced online connectivity across more than fifty domestic and international markets.”

Mr. Daniel Barranger, Vice President-Sales, JetLite added, “Besides offering passengers seamless connectivity and additional same-day return possibilities on several domestic sectors, this agreement is an important step forward in achieving further revenue synergies between the two carriers, both leaders in their respective market niches.”

Additional codeshare services between the two airlines will be implemented in phases.

*Conditions apply. Please refer to www.jetairways.com for more details

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