Etihad
Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, celebrated its
seventh anniversary on November 5, 2010.
In seven years of rapid growth, Etihad has flown over 26
million passengers on more than 180,000 flights to destinations across the
Middle East, Africa, Australia, Europe, North America, and Asia. Over the
same period the airline’s fleet has grown to 57 aircraft in 2010.
James Hogan, chief executive officer of Etihad Airways
said, “We have witnessed tremendous growth over the past seven years in our
route network, aircraft fleet, passenger figures and number of employees.
“Industry and customer endorsement is evidence of
Etihad’s significant achievements over this period and is testimony to the
enormous commitment of our staff in delivering the very best travel
experience in the aviation industry.”
Emerging from the global recession, 2010 has seen the
return of passenger travel. To date this year, Etihad has carried over 6
million passengers and is expected to carry more than 7.3 million passengers
by the end of the 2010, compared to 6.3 million in 2009. The load factor has
also increased significantly from 74 percent in 2009, and is expected to
average 77 percent for 2010.
Five new routes were added to the airline’s global
network during 2010 - Colombo, Nagoya, Tokyo, Erbil, and Seoul - while
access to many key destinations on Etihad’s global network was improved
following a 12 percent increase in the number of weekly flights from 928 in
2009 to more than a thousand in 2010.
To serve network growth, fleet expansion continued in
2010 with the addition of three new aircraft including one A330-300 aircraft
and two A330-200F freighter aircraft. A further A330-300 aircraft will come
into service by November 13, bringing the fleet complement, including six
freighters, to 57 by year end.
Growth in the sky was matched by continued expansion on
the ground where staff numbers increased to more than 8000, including around
2800 cabin crew and over 900 pilots. Etihad currently has more than 60
‘new-joiners’ each month, drawn from more than 120 different nationalities.
Emiratisation remains a priority for the airline and
recruitment of top talent from across the UAE continues. UAE nationals now
comprise 12 percent of the total workforce, up from eight percent in 2009.
Etihad’s cargo division, Crystal Cargo, continued to
expand rapidly during 2010. Cargo shipments and tonnage increased year on
year by 19 and 20 percent respectively. The dedicated freighter fleet
increased to six after two Airbus A330-200F were taken into service this
year, and scheduled cargo services were launched to Hong Kong, Beijing,
Erbil and N’djamena, Narita and Nagoya.
Etihad Airways won a range awards to add to its growing
trophy cabinet, including ‘World’s Best First Class Airline Seat’ and
‘World’s Best First Class Onboard Catering’ in the annual Skytrax survey, as
judged by over 18 million air travelers worldwide. The airline was also
recognized at the World Travel Awards Middle East with over six awards
received including ‘World’s Leading Airline’.
James Hogan said, “It has been a tremendously exciting
and productive year for Etihad Airways and we are looking forward to our
eighth year of commercial operation, remaining firmly dedicated to our
target of breaking even in 2011.”
