Airberlin has joined Etihad Airways in calling for the appeal of a German court ruling made last week, effectively denying Etihad and airberlin the right to continue 31 winter 2015/16 code-shared routes that the two airlines currently operate.
Stefan Pichler, CEO of airberlin, said the only entity that benefits from the court ruling is its main German competition, Lufthansa. “Airberlin is Lufthansa’s sole competitor in the German domestic market,” he said. “We keep the competition honest, strong and effective, as otherwise Lufthansa would have a monopoly, which would be disastrous for German consumers.”
Etihad owns a 30 percent stake in airberlin and has said previously that airberlin could suffer severe financial consequences if the code-share is not allowed to continue. The court’s Dec. 30 decision is seen as a black eye for the Persian Gulf-based carrier as it applies to the open skies debate. The German transport ministry filed the case against Etihad and airberlin, questioning the legality of the 31 routes at the heart of the matter.
Both carriers have said they will honor all booked itineraries. If the decision by the court is not overturned, the code-share routes in question must end Jan. 16.