Etihad CEO hits back at rival

Abu Dhabi: The Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways has delivered a stinging rebuke to comments made by Qantas boss Alan Joyce.

James Hogan said on Wednesday that Etihad's alliance with Virgin Blue, which was approved by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) last week, meant the Abu Dhabi-based carrier was joining a global network that "was much stronger than Qantas".

Hogan was responding to Joyce's comments published by ABC News saying he had rejected an alliance with Etihad because he did not see any economic benefits of such a deal.

Hogan said: "Etihad is a private company and does not publish its financial results. I was not aware that Alan had been through our books — but if he had, he would know that Etihad is on track to achieve its financial targets. In relation to our proposed alliance with Virgin Blue, the numbers not only stack up, they are compelling.

Future map

"Our codeshare arrangement with Qantas — ironically negotiated with [Virgin Blue CEO] John Borghetti during his time there — was an important part of Etihad's past. Virgin Blue, however, is our future. We are very excited to be working with an airline that recognises not only the benefits of flying into the Middle East and beyond, but the value to Australia's travellers and Australian tourism of a modern global network — a network that is much stronger than Qantas's."

Qantas attempted to block the deal between Etihad and Virgin Blue earlier this month amid concerns over pricing on the Abu Dhabi-Australia route. In a statement posted on the ACCC's website, Qantas said: "Since Abu Dhabi attracts only a small volume of point-to-point travel, the true value of the proposed alliance rests in access to international networks. It is not possible that the applicants will not also be coordinating prices between Australia and Europe when they are price fixing on the Australia-Abu Dhabi route."

The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported yesterday that Joyce told business leaders in Sydney that he objects to Etihad's alliance with Virgin Blue because "the airlines were not being put through the same process that Qantas and British Airways once had to endure".

He also reportedly said that he was confident Qantas's relationship with British Airways would enable it to compete against carriers in the Middle East.