News flies in from Austraila of the proposed alliance with Virgin Blue Group and Eithad has been approved by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC).
The upshot of the decision is that the two companies are allowed to cooperate on pricing and scheduling between the two networks, and new services from Sydney-Abu Dhabi and Brisbane-Abu Dhabi in the future.
The aim is for Etihad and V Australia to offer 27 weekly services between Abu Dhabi and Australia over the next few years from major centres (Sydney, Melborne, Brisbane), with connections to 65 destinations from Abu Dhabi and 45 destinations from Virgin Blue hubs.
An interesting play – and one to annoy Qantas as they have an existing relationship with Eithad. One to watch in the next few months….
