German court allows Etihad codeshare

BERLIN  A German court, last Friday, issued an interim injunction allowing Etihad to operate codeshare flights with Air Berlin until 8 November, after the Abu Dhabi-based airline filed a legal challenge against the German government on the issue.
Etihad had earlier Friday filed a request for a “provisional injunction to protect its codeshare flights with Air Berlin” after the German government failed to give it a timely decision on whether it could fly codeshare with Air Berlin for certain destinations.

The airline said it could no longer wait for the government’s decision because the coming winter plane schedule is about to take effect on Sunday, running until next March, it said.
Many “passengers have already booked their tickets,” said the airline, adding that it “has no option other than to file a request for an injunction at the administrative court of Brunswick.”
inside no 10Some 29 destinations in Europe, the United States and the United Arab Emirates are affected by the issue.
Late Friday, the court allowed the codeshare flights to be operated until 8 November, the airline said.
The ruling “offers both parties the opportunity to resolve differences,” Etihad said.
The German Transport Ministry said Friday that Etihad had requested 83 codeshare flights, of these 52 are covered by a treaty between Germany and the United Arab Emirates.
Another 31 are not covered but the airline will have until mid-January to make any required changes to its flight organisation.
Etihad holds a 29% stake in Air Berlin, and is its biggest shareholder.

sourced:ttrweekly.com