Eitihad pr

Eitihad pr

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  Tuesday, April 26,2016 FE Report PARTNERSHIP APPROACH OFFERS NEW MODEL FOR AIRLINE COMPETITION, SAYS EITHAD AIRWAYS PRESIDENT AND CEO The partnership approach was adopted by the Etihad Airways on Tuesday to offer a new model for airline competition in the industry. Delivering the keynote address at the monthly Wings Club meeting at New York, the President of Etihad Airways James Hogan said in an industry dominated by legacy airlines, and with such high barriers to entry, no new network carrier could hope to compete effectively in its own. Yet without new competition, consumers around the world would suffer not just in terms of cost, but in market access, infrastructure requirements and the challenge of competing against such entrenched mega-carriers, said a press release. Mr Hogan said Etihad Airways’ entry into the United States market had also brought major benefits to the country. “The highest barrier is network. You can’t build a global network overnight – in fact, you’d need decades and billions of dollars, to build networks that could compete against the major airline group that’s where partnership comes in. From day one, we’ve taken an open partnership approach, working with scores of airlines on code share agreements. Then we took that a step further with minority equity investments in strategically important airlines, he added. Together, the airlines were able to create a new competitive choice for air travelers in key markets around the world. That’s good for consumers, good for tourism and good for trade,” he added. The equity investment strategy was a key element of that approach. We have a two-pronged approach. From a strategic level, we are looking for the equity partners to bring network connectivity, generate additional revenues and create economies of scale. All our partners are delivering on this level. That has helped to create the seventh largest airline group in the world and is delivering hundreds of millions of dollars to our business.
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  Each partner thenhas its own business plan, which is the responsibility of their own management and Boards of Directors. Many of these, such as Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, Jet Airways and Virgin Australia, are now delivering on this level too. We are supporting the restructuring of businesses that require it, such as Alitalia and Airberlin, added a press release. Etihad is a tiny player in the US air travel market, with less than 0.01 per cent of daily international departures. However, we have been able to offer major benefits to the United States. Etihad connects the US, through our hub in Abu Dhabi, with scores of markets which are simply not served by other carriers. That means we are feeding hundreds of thousands of travelers, leisure and business, into the US. Hundreds of thousands of those get fed onto the US carriers. That’s where our unique partnership model comes in. [email protected] End/Sanwar Hossain.