Emirates takeover of Etihad

[brownmanc]

Early talks on progess  pending opening of new DWC Airport Dubai

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-20/emirates-said-to-be-exploring-etihad-deal-to-forge-no-1-airline?srnd=premium-europe

 

[Pinoydave]

Surely better to buy an airline outside the Middle East and expand their offerings 

[blue1878]

Interesting reading.

I would have thought that Etihad would have wanted to stay independant.  Etihad is still a newish airline I think there first ever commercial flight was in November 2003.  And there growth has coincided with the expansion of Abu Dhabi airport.  If they've had recent setbacks then they should ride them out and I'm sure they will still do well in the future.

[davidge]

It’s been on the cards for a while. Etihad has lost billions - not helped by takeovers such as Alitalia. Airline has been totally mismanaged.

Abu Dhabi struggling a bit as well - brought in VAT recently to try and raise more revenue.

[striderman]

the etihad business lounge at LHR T4 is to close oct 5th.

[jocky king]

Strange , I bought the flight ticket Etihad this December for €370 , it was my cheapest ever flight (to Thailand ) . 

[Mr Wombat]

1 hour ago, jocky king said:

Strange , I bought the flight ticket Etihad this December for €370 , it was my cheapest ever flight (to Thailand ) . 

Its all your fault they are going broke. How do you expect them to make any money flying you to thailand and back for 370 euro. And being irish you will probably drink 200 euro of piss on the flight

[regyai]

Etihad Manchester Lounge now 'under new management'

[Bonkabit]

Most recent The Economist has article on this, including:

"Etihad had losses of $1.95 billion in 2016 and $1.53 bn in 2017".

"Likeliest is a merger of operations only...this would enable Emirates to to reap the benefits of a deal without Etihad's liabilities. The two have already begun to cooperate along these lines (security and sharing pilots).

[nekkid]

Just been watching a youtube vid (DJ Aviation) which suggested the secondment of pilots for 2 years was as a result of Etihad downsizing its operations - cutting routes and planes - which meant it had a surplus of pilots, whereas Emirates had need of more.

Also suggested there would be benefits to Bankers and Shareholders from a merger / takeover and they may be the source of leaks hoping to create momentum for such a deal.

And said there would be potential disbenefits for plane makers as Etihad and Emirates have a lot of planes on order between them, and reducing losses by $400M in one year was quite a turnaround, and they might aim for < $1bn loss for 2018.

It does seem like a takeover might be bad for consumers, as less competition, as the "Big 3" in the ME would become only 2, so on the face of it not a good thing for PA addicts?

[jocky king]

7 hours ago, Mr Wombat said:

Its all your fault they are going broke. How do you expect them to make any money flying you to thailand and back for 370 euro. And being irish you will probably drink 200 euro of piss on the flight

But I don’t drink anymore  ....... .... Saving me a lot of money on flight will mean more visit to Soi 6 ...  Happy days . 

[bigbadbaz]

I went Etihad economy on my 1st visit to Los in 2016. It was my 1st long haul and very impressed. Been going twice a year most years since but not used Etihad and became a bit of a tart as got cheaper with Emirates or Qatar.

last couple of years upgraded to Bizz class after treating myself to the Emirates A380 a few yrs ago but recently been Qatar Bizz as at Xmas for my main holiday they are about £500 cheaper than Emirates 

After all the waffle above I have booked Etihad Bizz for this Xmas as got it less than £1500 with excellent flight times and stopover. However I'm hoping I don't regret it as the reviews in last 3 months have been shocking, maybe 10% seem ok but the rest seems they don't give a fuck, if they get took over and they get run the Emirates way will be great but at the moment they are as popular as a fart in a spacesuit 

[Straw]

22 hours ago, nekkid said:

 

It does seem like a takeover might be bad for consumers, as less competition, as the "Big 3" in the ME would become only 2, so on the face of it not a good thing for PA addicts?

Gulf and Oman  ??  Both in my opinion as good as Emirates Etihad and Qatar and in Omans case better than all 3 now the new terminal is open in Muscat

[Little Evil]

On 10/2/2018 at 03:14, Bonkabit said:

Most recent The Economist has article on this, including:

"Etihad had losses of $1.95 billion in 2016 and $1.53 bn in 2017".

"Likeliest is a merger of operations only...this would enable Emirates to to reap the benefits of a deal without Etihad's liabilities. The two have already begun to cooperate along these lines (security and sharing pilots).

Etihad was also heavily subsidized by Abu Dhabi. Something north of $15 billion over the last 10 years. That was a major point of contention from many US carriers like AA. That means that these losses are kind of crazy given that they had such a lofty head start. 

[Rambuttri village]

16 hours ago, Straw said:

Gulf and Oman  ??  Both in my opinion as good as Emirates Etihad and Qatar and in Omans case better than all 3 now the new terminal is open in Muscat

I half agree with you. My last two flights were with Oman and got two booked with them this winter. They should be considered a big ME carrier now. Very competitive prices in economy, and also using Manchester airport for over 12 months, so many of us Northern England PA members will be regularly using. From what I experienced last winter they fell a little short of Qatar and Emirates in IFE and the food quality. However with a new airport, and with me having silver status things may have improved and will reserve judgement until 2 weeks time when flying with them again.

[Straw]

18 hours ago, Roving Rover said:

I half agree with you. My last two flights were with Oman and got two booked with them this winter. They should be considered a big ME carrier now. Very competitive prices in economy, and also using Manchester airport for over 12 months, so many of us Northern England PA members will be regularly using. From what I experienced last winter they fell a little short of Qatar and Emirates in IFE and the food quality. However with a new airport, and with me having silver status things may have improved and will reserve judgement until 2 weeks time when flying with them again.

Massive improvement on Oman since last march when new terminal opened. You'll be be well impressed

[Welbeck]

On 02/10/2018 at 13:39, Mr Wombat said:

Its all your fault they are going broke. How do you expect them to make any money flying you to thailand and back for 370 euro. And being irish you will probably drink 200 euro of piss on the flight

I better not mention I just paid £359.

I've just come back and wasn't very impressed. Firstly they wouldn't let me check in online. Having filled out the online check-in it wouldn't accept it and told me to check-in at the airport. They also wanted £19.50 per leg to pick my seat. When I got to the airport I was assigned middle sets on both legs, the flight was full so couldn't change. The interior of the planes just felt tired and worn out, and for some unknown reason they turn the IFE off about half an hour before landing. 

I've flown Qatar for the last 10 times before this flight and Etihad aren't a patch on them but were £50 cheaper. 

I've fallen out with Qatar over their Frequent Flyer Program, they decided they'd change the points system so I'd need to fly 5 times a year to get the same benefits as I used to get flying 3 times. Plus, they wouldn't let me use the points I'd already got to upgrade, they said I needed a W class or higher Economy ticket to be able to upgrade, it's the same thing but £300 more. I think I'll have to go back with my tail between my legs.