News

Etihad's one-third stake in Darwin approved

2 Apr 2015 by GrahamSmith

Etihad Airways' one-third stake in Darwin Airline has received regulatory approval from Switzerland's Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA).

Darwin Airline has operated as Etihad Regional since the beginning of last year and is headquartered in Lugano (see news, January 2014).

The decision means Etihad and Etihad Regional can now launch benefits such as codesharing on flights both local and international.

Etihad Airways CEO James Hogan said he is disappointed by the length of time it took FOCA to grant regulatory approval.

He said: "Because of the time taken to approve this partnership, and intense competition during this period, Etihad Regional has been forced to reduce or withdraw services on a number of routes, which were launched on the expectation that they would be supported by traffic flowing between the Etihad Airways global network and the Etihad Regional network in Europe.

"Once formalities are completed to activate the investment, Etihad Regional will have much greater connectivity, not only with Etihad Airways but also with its other partners in Europe, including Alitalia, Air Berlin and Air Serbia."

Etihad's 49 per cent stake in Alitalia was approved in November (see news, November 17), while its 49 per cent stake in Air Serbia was approved a year ago (see news, March 2014)

etihadregional.com

Graham Smith

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