Other Middle East and Africa Frequent Flyer Programs - Etihad tie-up with BMI ?

LONDON, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways said on Sunday it had no firm talks planned with any potential partners, following a press report that it had held initial discussions about a tie-up with Britain's bmi [BMID.UL] .

Your thread title seems a bit premature, don't you think?

OTOH, if EY were to become partner with BD, that would make Diamond Club that much more attractive (assuming, of course, that miles could be earned at a healthy clip, as with *A ;) )

I only believe stuff like this with at least five exclamation points in the thread title.

Ahh, you see if your from the middle east, you would know that denying a report, is an acknowledgment in itself, and is usually a matter of time before you get an "Official" word that the tie-up is indeed on the table.

Please see this thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=766552

Lest some FTers think that ALL interest is on the BD side, there would be a few of us thinking about the EY side of this red herring - in addition to wondering/worrying about DC and the ICC redemption shuffle.

You have to admit, it's quite a Sunday newspaper story. ;)

I've just edited the thread title to show a '?' instead of the '!!!'

ralfkrippner, forum co-moderator

I've just edited the thread title to show a '?' instead of the '!!!'

ralfkrippner, forum co-moderator

Thanks, ralfkrippner! There is no news on the bmi forum, so this might be the end of the story.

It depends on the definintion of tie-up. Etihad will never let itself be taken over by bmi, but perhaps a purchase in bmi shares isn't out of the question, similar to the EK-UL marriage.

Through an existing agreement, BMI's owner required Lufthansa to take the 50% (minus 1 share) stake of its chairman, from some pre-existing agreement. As discussed in detail on the bmi forum (http://flyertalk.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?s=&daysprune=&f=486).

So who invented the Etihad strawman?

Story is that Virgin Atlantic welcomes the news as it could lead to a VA / BD tie-up, against BA.

BMI Takeover: Air Battle Heats Up (http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Business/Lufthansa-Is-To-Take-Majority-Stake-In-BMI-Airline/Article/200810415132353?lpos=Business_Carousel_Region_1&lid=ARTICLE_15132353_Lufthansa_Is_To_Take_Majority _Stake_In_BMI_Airline) [Sky News]

German airline Lufthansa is to take over British airline BMI - fuelling an airline battle.The move was welcomed by Virgin Atlantic, who said the deal could allow anBMI alliance between the two companies to rival competitor British Airways.

The deal is expected to be completed by mid-January.

It will give Lufthansa control of more flights from London Heathrow airport than any other airline except British Airways.

Steve Ridgway, chief executive of Virgin Atlantic, paid tribute to Sir Michael - and said the deal would allow BMI and Virgin to combine their networks.

He said: "Michael is one of the legends of UK aviation. He has been a considerable force in championing the cause of the consumer and, along with Virgin Atlantic, has helped to provide much-needed competition to British Airways.

"Now we are about to enter the next phase of BMI's future and a turning point in aviation.

"Everyone has speculated that it would make sense for Virgin Atlantic and BMI to combine their long-haul and short-haul networks.

"There is now a major opportunity to do that and create a new, strongly viable competitor to BA."