Air France-KLM has formed an alliance with United Arab Emirates airline Etihad and budget airline Air Berlin which opens up the Asian, African and Australian markets to the French-Dutch airline.

The alliance will allow passengers to fly to Etihad’s home base in Abu Dhabi and then transfer to flights into cities such as Colombo, Islamabad, Melbourne and Sydney.
It is Air France-KLM’s answer to the growing competition from Middle Eastern airlines and means the company can compete with Emirates, Lufthansa and British Airways. According to KLM CEO Peter Hartman, the move will be good for the Dutch economy.
Emirates
Hartman has been scathing about the ‘red carpet rolled out by Schiphol and the Dutch state’ for Emirates, the largest airline in the Gulf area. Passengers flying Emirates can transfer in Dubai to destinations around the world. These flights do nothing for the Dutch economy, according to Hartman.
The new alliance is just the beginning, Hartman said at a press conference. Air France-KLM already works with Delta and Northwest in the US. ‘Our intention is to find more of these alliances,’ Hartman said.