Virgin Australia and Gulf carrier Etihad Airways have won clearance from Australia’s anti-trust regulator to continue their strategic alliance for another five years.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Rod Sims said the partnership will likely continue to deliver public benefits on the Australia-Abu Dhabi route that would not be available without the alliance.
"The ACCC accepts that Virgin would not operate services to Abu Dhabi if this partnership with Etihad did not exist," Sims said.
Under the terms of the alliance the airlines collaborate on joint pricing and scheduling on routes.
Etihad has a 25% shareholding in Virgin Australia and a seat on its board.
The decision was applauded by Etihad president James Hogan who said: "In the first five years of the alliance, we’ve shaken up the competitive landscape by delivering more destinations."
"Over the next five years, our focus will be on new areas of commercial co-operation with Virgin Australia and opportunities for increased public benefit."
Virgin said seat capacity on the Sydney to Abu Dhabi route had increased by 30% over the first five years of the alliance helped by the deployment of larger Airbus A380 aircraft.
