Dubai: Etihad Airways said on Thursday it will stop flying to Dallas/Fort Worth from March 25, 2018, following American Airlines’ decision to terminate its code-share deal with the Abu Dhabi-based carrier.
In a statement, Etihad said the Abu Dhabi-Dallas route will become “commercially unsustainable” without a code-share deal, and blamed that on American Airlines’ decision to terminate their agreement.
“The unfortunate decision by American Airlines to terminate a commercial relationship that benefited both carriers has left Etihad with no choice but to suspend flights between our Abu Dhabi home and Dallas/Fort Worth,” said Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways’ chief executive officer.
He added: “We are open to American Airlines reversing its decision to cancel our code-share agreement so that Etihad Airways can continue the route, and together protect and support American national interests and global connectivity while driving commercial value for both airlines.”
Dallas is one of five American cities Etihad flies to, the others being Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Washington. The carrier currently operates 42 direct flights a week to the five cities.
Baumgartner said that the cancellation of the Dallas route will be “one of several adjustments” that Etihad will be making to its US network in 2018 to improve profitability.
While the CEO did not elaborate on which routes may be impacted, he said that further changes are possible as Etihad monitors the full impact of the American Airlines code-share cancellation on summer 2018 bookings.
Etihad launched the Abu Dhabi-Dallas route in December 2014 with three flights a week, but then upgraded that to a daily service in February 2017. Over 235,000 passengers have flown on that route since its launch, Etihad said, with nearly of those passengers connecting on code-share flights operated by American Airlines, which is based in Fort Worth.
The Dallas route suspension is the latest in a long dispute between three Gulf carriers (Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways) and the big three American carriers (Delta, American and United).
The feud started when the three US airlines filed a report in 2015 claiming that the Gulf carriers have received billions of dollars in government subsidies, allowing them to compete unfairly and take up market share. The three Gulf carriers have repeatedly denied those allegations, calling them baseless.
