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Qatar’s move to end Etihad’s codeshare with Virgin looks increasingly shrewd after its UAE rival recorded one of the highest international load factors into Australia in September.
Across the month, 96 per cent of seats on Etihad’s 60 inbound services were full, up from 89 per cent in August and higher even than Qatar’s 94 per cent.
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The Middle Eastern carrier announced last year it would purchase a 25 per cent stake in the Australian airline and, as part of the deal, would ‘wet lease’ aircraft and crew to Virgin so it could fly 28 services a week to Doha.
However, as a condition of the agreement, Virgin Australia pledged to drop its long-standing tie-up with Etihad.
The development will likely have significant ramifications for long-haul travel into Australia, given the codeshare with Virgin is a major incentive for customers to book travel with Etihad over Qatar.
It also excludes Etihad from local codeshares entirely, given that Qantas has an exclusive partnership with Emirates, a fellow UAE airline. Both Doha and Abu Dhabi are major hubs for onward connections around the world.
Now, new BITRE data released by the Department for Transport for September confirms Etihad’s strong performance.
Its overall inbound load factors were the best of any international airline except South African Airways flights to Johannesburg.
Currently, Qatar flies 188 services each month to Australia, compared to Etihad’s 60. Only Virgin Australia’s flights from Indonesia and Qantas flights from South Africa performed better.
After the news of Virgin’s codeshare plans was revealed in October, Etihad pre-emptively cut the deal, despite the Qatar purchase yet to be formally signed off by the federal government.
In a statement, Etihad said the partnership would end on 1 June 2025, which “reflects a divergence in the strategic direction of the respective airlines”.
“When the termination takes effect, passengers will no longer be able to book Virgin Australia-operated flights through Etihad’s booking channels,” the airline said.
“For Etihad customers with existing bookings that include a Virgin Australia-operated segment, there will be no changes to their itineraries. Members will not earn Guest Miles on Virgin Australia-operated flights from 01 June, 2025 onwards.
Virgin also confirmed in a submission to the ACCC that codesharing with long-time partner Singapore Airlines would apply only to flights to and from Asia. Unlike with Etihad, this would not affect frequent flyer benefits.
The codeshare exclusivity agreement has raised concerns within the industry, including with the Australian Airports Association. The association’s CEO, Simon Westaway, recommended that limits be imposed in an ACCC submission.
