Etihad to build fourth alliance...
 

http://www.traveldaily.com.au/news/t...lliance/204630

The airline that stated until recenlty that they didn't believe in alliances has flip-flopped and now wants to start a fourth alliance.

They already have some kind of alliance with the stakes they have in different airlines but are inviting other airlines to join as well. Even if they're part of an existing alliance. (AB is given as an example here)

I wonder how they will make this happen and if there're no conflicts of interest. Chances of AB quitting OW just got a bit bigger I think.

So if Sky Team is known as "Leftover Team", what name will be applied to this new alliance?

Also, I'd never heard of Darwin Airline - what did it evolve from?

I believe Darwin Airline doesn't exist any longer. I thought EY renamed them to a regional carrier based in Switzerland.

Here: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/etiha...-regional.html

Are members really just allied with Etihad or with each other? The former isn't really an alliance.

The article states "a shared passion for superior service, are central to the ethos of the Etihad Airways Partner concept." AB has one of the WORST customer service reputations. How does this align? Based on personal experience I would not mourn the loss of AB from OW.

I think all the airlines named as founding members are owned (partly or fully) by Etihad. There are others not on that initial list.

This bit at the end "shared pilot and cabin crew training at the EY facilities in Abu Dhabi" makes me think it's not a first among equals alliance as per (broadly!) the other three, but an extension of EY's strategy of investing in airlines. I.e. a staging post for possible future investment and/or a way to get the kind of influence EY wants from direct investment but at lower cost.

I'm sure they can get Alaska to partner up with them, AS will partner with anyone!

You can't consider it the fourth alliance bacause they don't have any US based member. Not to mention the 6 airlines but Etihad are all pretty small and the markets they serve are pretty limited.

Is a US based member a requirement of an alliance?

The cant really form an alliance with Etihad being the centre without other airlines forming bonds amongst themselves...it would be more like a corporation.

Of course no, but the U.S. is the biggest aviation market, if you don't have a partner there you'd struggle to compete with the other three.

Me neither

Looks like SAA will soon be a new member - apparently there will be a joint announcement from SA and EY on the 9th December.

Interesting. I hope that doesn't mean they are going to leave *A.