Strong start something to build on says CEO

Etihad Airways continued its industry-leading growth in the first quarter of 2012, with a 28 percent rise in revenue to $989 million over the corresponding period in 2011 and passenger numbers soaring by 500,000 to 2.4 million.
Etihad Airways president and CEO, James Hogan, said, “We met all our revenue targets and budget estimates in the first quarter, despite the challenging economic conditions confronting the international community.

“Despite the tough economic times we believe our business model of organic network growth combined with codeshare partnerships and strategic equity investments will enable us to continue to prosper and ensure sustainable profitability.”

The record results were announced as Mr Hogan unveiled plans for a significant expansion of the airline’s global network over the next 18 months.

These included a daily service to Etihad Airways’ first South America destination and a new service to Vietnam.

Mr Hogan said the South American flights would begin next year with details of the first destination now being finalised.

“This is a logical next step for us and will mark the sixth continent we serve and our coming of age as a truly global airline,” he said.

Etihad Airways also planned to replicate the success of its European expansion by introducing additional frequencies to a range of other destinations in Asia and Australia.

This year Etihad Airways has announced the launch of non-stop daily flights to Washington, DC, begun flights to Tripoli, Shanghai and Nairobi and will soon start services to Basra and Lagos, as well as increasing flight frequencies to Düsseldorf, Bangkok, Cairo, Kuwait and Dammam.

Extra capacity will also be added to the London Heathrow and Kuala Lumpur routes. The national airline of the United Arab Emirates now has a worldwide network that stretches across 84 cities in 54 countries.

The airline said revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) rose during the first quarter by 26.6 percent to 10.9 billion, thanks to growth in available seat kilometres (ASKs) through new routes, additional frequencies, increased seat capacity and strengthening load factors. Seat factor jumped by 3.8 percentage points to 76.5 percent, the highest first quarter level in the airline’s history.

Etihad Airways beat its 2011 breakeven target last year when it posted a net profit of $14 million.

Mr Hogan added that sensible investments would continue in all areas of the business.