Mumbai: Etihad Airways continued its industry-leading growth in the first quarter of 2012, with a 28 per cent rise in revenue to US$ 989 million over the corresponding period in 2011 and passenger numbers soaring by 500,000 to 2.4 million.
\nEtihad Airways President and Chief Executive Officer, James Hogan, said: \u201cWe met all our revenue targets and budget estimates in the first quarter, despite the challenging economic conditions confronting the international community.
\n\u201cDespite 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.\u201d
\nThe record results were announced as Mr Hogan unveiled plans for a significant expansion of the airline\u2019s global network over the next 18 months.
\nThese included a daily service to Etihad Airways\u2019 first South America destination and a new service to Vietnam.
\nMr Hogan said the South American flights would begin mid next year with details of the first destination now being finalised.
\n\u201cThis 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,\u201d he said.
\nEtihad 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.
\nMr Hogan said: \u201cWe continue to outperform much of the global airline industry, with spectacular growth in revenue, the number of passengers flown and freight carried.
\n\u201cOur expanded network through organic growth and partnerships has reached a critical mass that is now powering our business forward.
\n\u201cOur seat factor hit a record high but yields, particularly in the premium cabins, remain a challenge.\u201d
\nAlready in the first quarter of 2012 Etihad Airways has announced the launch of non-stop daily flights to Washington, D.C., begun flights to Tripoli, Shanghai and Nairobi, and will soon start services to Basra and Lagos, as well as increase flight frequencies to D\u00fcsseldorf, Bangkok, Cairo, Kuwait, and Dammam. Extra capacity will also be added to London Heathrow and Kuala Lumpur. The national airline of the United Arab Emirates now has a worldwide network that stretches across 84 cities in 54 countries.
\nEtihad Airways will take delivery of seven new aircraft in 2012 \u2013 three Airbus A320s and four Boeing B777s, with the first three-class B777-300ER deployed on the London route from July. The carrier\u2019s fleet will have grown to 71 aircraft by year\u2019s end.
\nThe airline said revenue passenger kilometres (RPKs) rose during the first quarter by 26.6 per cent 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 per cent, the highest first quarter level in the airline\u2019s history.
\nMr Hogan highlighted the importance of Etihad\u2019s partnership strategy in boosting passenger numbers in the first three months of the year.
\n\u201cWe are flying with fuller planes across the network and our codeshare partnerships played a major role in this growth, accounting for 18 per cent of our revenues in the quarter.\u201d
\nRecently Etihad Airways announced China Eastern Airlines had become its 37th partner airline with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding ( MoU) that encompasses joint route and schedule coordination, codesharing between the UAE and China and, in time, on each other’s networks.
\n\u201cOur equity investments, in airberlin and Air Seychelles, are already bearing fruit and we are starting to see both revenue and cost benefits from synergies with each carrier.\u201d
\nEtihad Airways and airberlin will save millions of dollars integrating their Boeing 787 Dreamliner programs and the UAE flag carrier is also extending the benefits of its billion dollar deal with travel technology provider Sabre Airline Solutions to airberlin.
\nIn January Etihad Airways took a 40 per cent stake in Air Seychelles enabling it to renew its fleet and take advantage of Etihad Airways\u2019 extensive global route network, maximise efficiencies and boost sales opportunities
\nMr Hogan said Etihad Airways continued to focus on maintaining profitability, despite challenging market conditions. Escalating fuel costs, in particular, had a major impact on the aviation sector during the quarter.
\n\u201cFuel prices are our largest variable cost and they are tracking higher than 2011. We remain committed to an active fuel hedging strategy. Eighty per cent of our first quarter\u2019s fuel costs were hedged and we currently have 74 per cent of fuel costs hedged for the rest of 2012,\u201d he said.
\nIn March, Etihad Airways increased the fuel surcharge on its European flights to offset the costs being imposed on the airline by the European Union (EU) Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).
\nThe International Air Transport Association (IATA) said recently that rising oil prices and Europe\u2019s sovereign debt crisis were hanging over the airline industry\u2019s fortunes.
\nEtihad Airways beat its 2011 break even target last year when it posted a net profit of US$14 million.
\nDespite an industry-wide slowdown in air freight markets, Etihad Cargo defied the trend with revenues up 12.2 per cent to US$159 million.
\nThe airline said volumes had been strong, load factors increased and it continued to adjust freighter flying to meet customer needs.
\nMr Hogan added: \u201cWe have capitalised on more freighter flights into Central Asia and Libya early in the year and made better use of the bellyhold capacity of our newer passenger routes, such as D\u00fcsseldorf, Shanghai, Chengdu and Tripoli.
\n\u201cOn the strength of our success, two new freighters were ordered in the first quarter for delivery in 2013 and 2014.
\n\u201cWe also continue to leverage our new corporate partnerships with Air Seychelles and airberlin by putting our networks together to offer more choice to cargo customers.
\nMr Hogan said sensible investments would continue in all areas of the business.
\n\u201cThis encompasses all our key priorities \u2013 safety, service, training, product and partnerships.
\n\u201cAnd of course we remain firmly focused on ensuring 2012 will be the most profitable in the airline\u2019s history.
\n\u201cWe\u2019ve made a good start and will now build on our success over the next nine months,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Mumbai: Etihad Airways continued its industry-leading growth in the first quarter of 2012, with a 28 per cent rise in revenue to US$ 989 million over the corresponding period in 2011 and passenger numbers soaring by 500,000 to 2.4 million. Etihad Airways President and Chief Executive Officer, James Hogan, said: \u201cWe met all our revenue … Continue reading