Etihad to hike passenger number to 25 million by 2020
23 Sep 2008
Etihad Airways is planning for an increase in passenger number in excess of four times its current load, according to Etihad Airways CEO James Hogan.
Speaking to reporters in New York, Hogan said that Etihad believes it could hike passenger numbers from the current 6 million per year to 25 million per year by 2020, while more than doubling the number of cities served from 48 to 100.
According to Hogan, Etihad plans to increase its workforce from 6,600 presently to 27,000 by 2020. the airline's aggressive expansion can be gauged from it orders for 35 787s Dreamliners, 10 777-300ERs extended range aircraft, 20 A320s, 25 A350s and 10 A380s from Airbus, all together worth around $21 billion. It has options for another 105 different kinds of aircraft valued at another $22 billion.
Reports suggest that the young, four-year-old airline had its busiest summer yet ferrying over 1.6 million passengers during June, July and August with load factor running at 83 per cent.
