PARIS — Just a few years ago, James Hogan, the chief executive of Etihad Airways, probably would have had trouble scoring a meeting with one of his European counterparts. These days, however, it seems he’s never been so popular.

Like its larger Persian Gulf rivals — Emirates of Dubai and Qatar Airways — Etihad, of Abu Dhabi, once faced stiff resistance from established flag carriers. The big European airlines like Lufthansa, British Airways and Air France-KLM lobbied their governments to restrict the fast-growing Gulf carriers’ access to European airports for fear of losing market share on lucrative long-distance routes, particularly to Asia and the Middle East.

They also argued that Etihad and its peers, backed by deep-pocketed governments and not burdened with outdated terminals, airport taxes and rigid wage schemes, enjoyed an unfair advantage that European airlines could never match.

That attitude changed as Europe’s protracted economic crisis erased billions in airline profits and wiped out thousands of jobs. Some of the region’s weakest carriers are now reaching out for a financial lifeline, which reduced the industry’s protectionist impulses.