Etihad passengers can hop onto Flying Kangaroo

QANTAS might be vocal in its criticism of government-backed Middle Eastern airlines, but it seems happy to do business with Etihad Airways after forming a code-share agreement.

This will allow Qantas passengers to fly non-stop to Etihad's Abu Dhabi hub with connections to Bahrain, Beirut and Amman.

In all, Qantas will code share on 21 Etihad flights a week from Australia - including Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane - to Abu Dhabi. The Qantas routes covered by the arrangement include services between Sydney and Brisbane, and Melbourne to Auckland.

It has been a sticking point that Qantas does not have a direct connection through the Middle East as some travellers have a preference to fly via the region. The two carriers are understood to have unsuccessfully held discussions some years ago about forming a code share.

The agreement comes just days after Qantas took another pot shot at Middle Eastern airlines in a submission to the Federal Government's aviation green paper. Qantas said they get an easier ride amid the economic downturn because of their government ownership.