Etihad Airways reports record passenger, cargo traffic for first half of 2008
01 Jul 2008
Etihad Airways has reported record growth in passenger and freight traffic for the first half of 2008. The Abu Dhabi flag carrier said it carried 2.8 million passengers during the period, marking an increase of 41 per cent over the same period last year. The carrier also said it is on track to reach its target of ferrying six million passengers by the end of the year.
It also said that it had achieved an average load factor of 73 per cent across its network of 45 destinations in this period.
Etihad said it continues to expand its international network and add aircraft to its fleet that will grow from 37 to 45 by the end of the year. The new additions will enable the carrier to to introduce non-stop flights from Abu Dhabi to five new destinations in the second half of the year.
Chief executive, James Hogan, said: ''Etihad's performance during the first six months of 2008 has been extremely strong against a well documented backdrop of higher fuel prices and economic slow-down in parts of Europe and the Americas.
''Despite these significant challenges faced by many airlines, Etihad is not seeing any signs of a decline in demand in any of our markets or any of our cabins. Indeed our forward bookings are currently well ahead of expectations and we anticipate another very busy summer.''
So far this year, the airline has launched one new destination in 2008 - to Beijing. In August, the airline will also begin flying to Kozhikode (Calicut) and Chennai (Madras). The carrier will also become the first airline in the Gulf to fly to Belarus, when it launches service to the capital city Minsk on 5 August.
The airline plans to fly to Moscow and the Kazakh city of Almaty in December.
The carrier will also boost its Australian connectivity by increasing its existing daily service to Sydney to 11 flights per week by the end of October. The same month will also see the airline add a third daily flight to London Heathrow.
It said all classes experienced increased seat factors during the first six months of 2008, compared to the same period in 2007. The airline's Asia-Pacific services turned in a particularly strong performance with overall seat factors averaging 81 per cent across the region.
Passenger loads in the economy cabin averaged 83 per cent, led by Bangkok, Sydney, Manila and Jakarta, which all reported seat factors of more than 85 per cent.
The carrier also reported a record cargo performance in the first half of 2008. During this period Etihad Crystal Cargo carried more than 127,000 shipments, an increase of 22 per cent compared to the first six months of 2007.
These shipments had a combined weight of more than 100,000 tonnes.
