Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, said its 33.3% investment in the Swiss regional carrier Darwin Airline has been approved by Switzerland’s Federal Office of Civil Aviation (FOCA).

Since January last year, Lugano-based Darwin Airline has operated as Etihad Regional under a brand and partnership agreement with Etihad Airways.

FOCA’s approval of the Etihad’s investment will now enable the two companies to leverage fully the benefits of their partnership, including codesharing on each other’s flights within and beyond Europe.

James Hogan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Etihad, said the investment was in line with the growing trend of consolidation in the airline industry, to ensure the continuation of viable, reliable and stable air services, and to maximize flight connectivity.

The approval of the investment would enable Etihad and Darwin to work together more closely for the benefit of air travelers in Switzerland, across Europe, and beyond, he said.

“Because of the time taken to approve this partnership, and intense competition during this period, Etihad Regional has been forced to reduce or withdraw services on a number of routes, which were launched on the expectation that they would be supported by traffic flowing between the Etihad Airways global network and the Etihad Regional network in Europe,” Hogan said.

“Once formalities are completed to activate the investment, Etihad Regional will have much greater connectivity, not only with Etihad Airways but also with its other partners in Europe, including Alitalia, airberlin and Air Serbia,” he added.

File Photo: James Hogan, CEO of Etihad Airways, sits between Maurizio Merlo (left), CEO of Darwin Airline and Peter Baumgartner (right), Chief Commercial Officer of Etihad as he addresses a news conference to launch Etihad Regional airline at the airport in Zurich on January 16, 2014. (Reuters)