Dubai: Darwin Airline, operating as Etihad Regional, will meet with Switzerland’s civil aviation authority later this month in an effort to convince the regulator to approve a stake purchase by Etihad Airways.
Etihad Airways announced in November 2013 plans to buy 33.3 per cent of the rebranded Swiss-based Darwin Airline. Switzerland’s Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA/BAZL) has raised concerns with the stake purchase, namely Etihad Airways influence.
“Darwin had been given until the end of January 2015 to state its position and to suggest corrective measures. Until now, we got no position paper from Darwin, but an invitation from the board of directors for a meeting in mid-February. Then, Darwin will explain us their new business strategy,” a FOCA spokesperson told Gulf News by email.
FOCA has principally accepted the framework of the shareholder and corporate agreements of the stake purchase.
“However, with relation to the envisaged cooperation model between Darwin and Etihad, the FOCA came to the conclusion that the proposed involvement of Etihad in Darwin would mean considerable financial dependence on Etihad. This is not compliant with the applicable EU [European Union] regulation,” the spokesperson said.
An Etihad Airways spokesperson told Gulf News by email the airline is “aware that Darwin has filed a revised business plan at the end of last week addressing FOCA’s concerns about financial dependency.”
“A further detailed response about FOCA’s queries is being submitted today [Monday] and we understand that Darwin will meet with FOCA to resolve any remaining issues by mid-February,” the spokesperson added.
Earlier on Monday, Etihad Airways said in a statement it carried “almost” 14.8 million passengers in 2014, a 23 per cent rise on the previous year.
The airlines equity strategy, which has seen it buy stakes in numerous carriers from Australia to Ireland, added 3.5 million passengers to Etihad Airways flights in 2014, 40 per cent more than the 2.5 million the strategy delivered in 2013.
Etihad Airways received EU approval for its €560 million (Dh2.31 billion) investment in Alitalia last year, which included taking a 49 per cent stake in the Italian airline. However, its nearly 30 per cent stake in Air Berlin came under close scrutiny from German and European regulators in 2014.
