Etihad Airways has welcomed the announcement by Virgin Australia that it is to acquire a majority stake in Tiger Airways and has reached an in-principle agreement to purchase Skywest Airlines.

James Hogan, President and CEO of Etihad Airways, said: “These investments by Virgin Australia consolidate its position today as Australia’s most successful and fastest-developing airline. The addition of Tiger and Skywest into its portfolio can only help Virgin Australia’s competitive position in the Australian market and across the Asia-Pacific region. We welcome this exciting move by Virgin.”

Etihad Airways holds a 10 per cent stake in Virgin Australia Holdings.

Etihad Airways and Virgin Australia have developed a highly successful, multi-tiered partnership that includes code-sharing on flights, joint marketing initiatives and reciprocal earn-and-burn on their respective frequent flier programs.