Etihad Airways has received the go-ahead from the Australian government to increase its equity stake in Virgin Australia to a maximum of 10 per cent, double its current holding.
The carrier had already increased its stake in the Australian airline to 4.99 per cent earlier this year (see online news June 6), and at the time said that it remained interested “in building a larger stake over time but will only do so after receiving the necessary regulatory approvals”.
This approval has now been granted, paving the way for Etihad to raise its level of investment in Virgin Australia Holdings to a maximum of 10 per cent.
Co-operation between the two carriers has recently been ramped up, including codeshare flights, joint marketing initiatives and reciprocal earning and redemption rights on respective frequent flyer programmes.
For more information visit etihadairways.com.
Report by Mark Caswell
