80ktsClamp

Like I said, without Cam.. it's 10 people.

80ktsClamp

In Mother Russia, plane flies both of you....

GunshipGuy

redundant...

Boomer

My Hawker Hurricane picture seems to have dissapeared.

Perhaps the Luftwaffe knows a moderator and asked for it to be removed.

Boomer

Why are the engines up by the windshield?

dalad

You could be UGA with al those first round picks on defense giving up record yards to UK. I swear that coaching staff doesn't look at game film. Bobo just tells the receivers to go long, no imagination at all. Worst coaching staff in the NCAA.

fisherpilot

I've actually been busy with work the last few weeks and my following the L&G Delta thread has suffered (ha!). I knew that the 2013 block hr plan was supposed to be released. I'm assuming that hasn't happened yet?

Thanks

Columbia

Just maybe auburn's math department isn't fully certified yet?

80ktsClamp

As far as I can tell, it is... Just waiting on the next bid, which is planned to be small with displacements.

(quick! Pass the TA so we can have movement!)

iceman49

PARIS—Air France-KLM SA, AF.FR -3.51% Etihad Airways and Air Berlin AB1.XE -0.51% PLC Monday said they have forged a series of code-sharing agreements that will expand the networks of the three airlines.

The deal gives Abu-Dhabi-based Etihad another foothold in the European market, while AF-KLM should benefit from funneling passengers from the Middle East through its hubs in Paris and Amsterdam.

The new commercial arrangements signal an easing of AF-KLM's hostility to the Gulf carriers, which have emerged as major rivals to European carriers on long-haul routes to Asia. It also shows how airlines are increasingly willing to cooperate with rivals outside of their traditional alliances as they seek more flexible strategic and marketing arrangements to boost revenues and cut costs.

AF-KLM is a founder member of the SkyTeam airline alliance, while earlier this year Air Berlin joined oneworld, which is one of two rival global airline alliances that includes International Airlines Group's IAG.MC -1.78% British Airways and AMR Corp.'s AAMRQ -0.27% American Airlines.

Industry sources expect Qatar Airways, one of Etihad's main Mid-East rivals, to announce it is joining oneworld at an event in New York later Monday.

AMR Corp. and Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd. QAN.AU -1.11% are also pursuing deals with Dubai's fast-growing Emirates Airline, a longtime critic of the three global alliances, whose members account for almost two-thirds of global passenger traffic. Air Berlin's bigger German rival Deutsche Lufthansa LHA.XE -0.93% is a member of the third group known as Star Alliance.

Air France-KLM, Etihad Airways and Air Berlin said they are adding new destinations to their existing routes, upping the ante for Lufthansa in Germany and giving the Abu-Dhabi based carrier a stronger foothold in the European market.

The latest arrangements, covering routes between Europe and Abu Dhabi, will allow Etihad Airways customers to fly on the Amsterdam-Abu Dhabi daily flight operated by KLM. Air France customers will be able to travel between Paris-Charles de Gaulle and Abu Dhabi on flights operated by Etihad Airways.

Beyond their gateways, the code-share agreement offers five destinations each to Air France and KLM passengers in Asia and Australia, while Etihad will benefit from 10 European destinations on Air France and KLM.

"There's an old saying: "if you can't beat them, join them," said Dominique Patry, AF-KLM's vice president for international affairs and alliances.

"We've seen the [Persian] Gulf carriers continuing to grow and they offer products of excellent quality. Rather than continuing with this sterile competition, we have preferred to look for and found an area of possible cooperation with one of our partners," Mr. Patry said.

The three partners are keen to expand their cooperation in the future beyond code sharing, an arrangement to cross-sell seats, into other areas such as cargo and maintenance operations and will consider broadening it to include other routes, Mr. Patry said.

Etihad could one day join the SkyTeam alliance thought that isn't currently on the agenda, Mr. Patry said.

The three-way alliance with AF-KLM, Etihad and Air Berlin "is clearly a positive development" for the three airlines, said Stephen Furlong, an airlines analyst at Davy Stockbrokers in Dublin. While the airlines have signed only marketing and commercial agreements rather than a more formal alliance with cross-shareholdings, the pact "puts Lufthansa in a tighter spot," Mr. Furlong said.

Etihad President and Chief Executive Officer James Hogan said the moves are part of Etihad's 10-year plan to forge strategic partnerships with some airlines and take minority interests in others, while pursuing its internal growth. The latest pact is Etihad's 40th code-share agreement. The airline raised its stake in Air Berlin, Europe's sixth-largest airline, to 29.2% at the end of last year. It is also a shareholder in Ireland's Aer Lingus EIL1.DB -0.92% PLC

Air France and Air Berlin have agreed on a separate code-share agreement that allows customers of either carrier to fly on all the routes operated by the other between France and Germany. Passengers will also be able to connect to some selected destinations via Paris for Air Berlin, and via Berlin or Düsseldorf for Air France.

Air Berlin Chief Executive Hartmut Mehdorn predicted that the cooperation with AF-KLM "will strengthen our presence in the French and German markets."

Additionally, KLM and Air Berlin will cooperate on routes between the Netherlands and Germany.

Write to David Pearson at [email protected]