Qantas and Etihad Join Forces

Images Courtesy of Aero Channel (Qantas A380 over Sydney Harbor), Photobucket (Etihad Airwyas logo) and Boeing (Etihad Boeing 777 impression).

Qantas and Etihad Airways have announced a partnership by where passengers flying from Abu Dhabi will have seamless connections to Australian based Qantas’ own Jetstar by where the domestic airline will fly passengers to top Australian destinations.

Etihad passengers will no longer need to purchase another ticket or carry their bags between the international and domestic terminals, allowing passengers more options and a much smoother transit to their final holiday destinations. Qantas and Etihad have entered into a relationship where they will share passengers between Australia and Abu Dhabi Etihad’s home base and the capital city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). This new deal gives Qantas a new boost after the Australian flag carrier had to cut 1750 jobs and defer some of their aircraft orders due to the economic down turn.

It gives both Qantas and Jetstar an expanding customer base out of the Middle Eastern super hub and an opportunity to build business in a time where new super airlines are emerging and maybe the only ones with deep enough pockets to re-invest the tens of billions of dollars required on replacing and refurbishing ageing aircraft fleets and continually expanding their operations and interests globally.

Qantas is taking proactive steps to ensure it stays at the pinnacle of the airline world and re align itself for future viability and sustainability.

Which path will Qantas choose for its future viability and growth? only time can foster this answer but this new Qantas and Etihad partnership is a step to ensure the flying kangaroo is flying the world skies well into the future, setting a standard and changing the way we fly.