Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Aviation and German holiday company TUI Group are in final discussions to create a European leisure airline group, which is expected to operate 60 aircraft on point-to-point services to key tourist markets. The deal is expected to be finalized at a Nov. 23 board meeting. “The new, yet-to-be named airline will have a market share in the Germany/Austria/Switzerland leisure business of 35%,” a source involved in the negotiations said. “The transaction will be completed within the next weeks. The airline will be a completely new company on the market.” The source said the current project name of the company is Blue Sky. TUIfly employees have also agreed to the latest development and are now confident the new airline will offer future growth potential. On Oct. 6, TUIfly had to cancel flights and decided to completely shut down flight operations after many aircraft crew called in sick on short notice. The action followed concerns about the merger between the two companies. The source said the new holding company is expected to be based in Austria, with Etihad 25% and TUI taking a 24% stake. The remaining 51% is expected to be held by an Austrian foundation, to ensure Austrian majority ownership and maintain international traffic rights. The airline is planning a fleet of 14 Boeing 737s (currently operated by TUIfly for airberlin under a wet-lease agreement), 27 TUIfly 737NGs, as well as 17 Airbus A320 family aircraft from Austrian airberlin subsidiary FlyNiki, total 58 aircraft. But the airline plans to operate 60 aircraft initially.<br/>
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Etihad Airways said it plans to continue investing in its human capital, with plans to expand its crew briefing centre located by Abu Dhabi International Airport in order to streamline its operations. The crew briefing centre, which became operational in August 2015, is where Etihad pilots and cabin crew check in prior to flights from Abu Dhabi and get briefed on their routes and passengers. Majid Al Marzouqi, VP of flight operations at Etihad, said that having a separate centre outside the airport allows pilots and crew members to mentally prepare for each flight. Prior to the launch of the centre, pilots and crew checked in alongside passengers at Abu Dhabi International. “It’s about investing in the well-being of our crew, investing in being more efficient, and having a more robust process because it can be very stressful to go through these types of mechanisms every day. At the same time, it gives our crew members a more relaxed environment to conduct their duties,” he said. Al Marzouqi said Etihad plans to expand the centre in order to raise its capacity, and is considering moving to a new one closer to the Midfield Terminal, which is yet to be opened. In the past year, the centre handled a total of around 1.2m check-ins. <br/>