Etihad Airways welcomes Virgin Australia equity investment announcements

Press release

Published October 30th, 2012 - 08:45 GMT

Etihad Airways

Etihad Airways has welcomed the announcement by Virgin Australia that it is to acquire a majority stake in Tiger Airways and has reached an in-principle agreement to purchase Skywest Airlines.

James Hogan, President and CEO of Etihad Airways, said: “These investments by Virgin Australia consolidate its position today as Australia’s most successful and fastest-developing airline. The addition of Tiger and Skywest into its portfolio can only help Virgin Australia’s competitive position in the Australian market and across the Asia-Pacific region. We welcome this exciting move by Virgin.”

Etihad Airways holds a 10 per cent stake in Virgin Australia Holdings.

Etihad Airways and Virgin Australia have developed a highly successful, multi-tiered partnership that includes code-sharing on flights, joint marketing initiatives and reciprocal earn-and-burn on their respective frequent flier programs.

Background Information

Etihad Airways

As an airline, Etihad has come a long way in a short time – just like its home Abu Dhabi.

The airline was established by Royal (Emiri) Decree in July 2003 and is wholly owned by the Government of Abu Dhabi with a mandate to operate safely, commercially and profitably.