Etihad Aviation Group and TUI AG have confirmed that they are in discussions to create a strong European leisure airline group, focused on point-to-point flying to connect key tourist markets. It is proposed to contribute the touristic operations of the airberlin group and the German TUIfly company, including the aircraft currently operated by TUIfly for airberlin under a wet-lease agreement, into a new airline group established by TUI AG and Etihad Aviation Group. This new airline group would serve a broad network of destinations from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
The leisure airline group will be supported by the expertise of Etihad Aviation Group, the fastest-growing aviation group in the world, and utilise TUI’s state-of-the-art distribution capacity. TUI AG, Etihad Aviation Group and Air Berlin PLC intend to finalise an in-principle agreement in due course. Any agreement entered into will be subject to all necessary corporate and regulatory approvals.
TUIfly is part of TUI Group, one of the world’s number one tourism businesses, with around 75,000 employees serving 30 million customers a year, across the globe. TUI Group has a portfolio of more than 300 hotels, 14 cruise liners, six European airlines with around 140 aircraft and a wide-reaching distribution network, covering more than 1,800 travel agencies and online portals.
