Etihad Airways posted a record profit last year amid strong travel demand backed by fleet expansion, with plans to invest Dh80 billion ($21.8 billion) in new aircraft and products over the next decade.
The Abu Dhabi-based airline's profit after tax rose 47 per cent to Dh2.6 billion last year, as it carried more passengers and invested in premium cabin offerings, it said on Tuesday.
Total revenue increased by 21 per cent year on year to Dh30.7 billion, driven mainly by a 24 per cent rise in passenger revenue to Dh25.8 billion amid better load factors. Cargo revenue also grew 8 per cent to Dh4.5 billion, backed by higher capacity and volumes.
The airline carried 22.4 million passengers last year, up 21 per cent year on year, with capacity increasing at the same pace. Etihad Airways said demand remained strong across its network, with load factor rising to 88.3 per cent, up two percentage points from the prior year.
“It's all coming together: The strategy that we put together, the expansion that we're deploying, the investments of millions and millions of dollars in customer service,” Antonoaldo Neves, chief executive of Etihad Airways told reporters on Tuesday.
“And now we have a plan to invest in the next 10 years Dh80 billion in … new aircraft, new product enhancements.”
The airline is seeking to balance its ambitions against a sustainable rate of growth.
“Of course, this is a sector where you have to be careful. So we have our feet grounded but we have a lot of ambition, so we got to keep working hard.”
Geopolitical headwinds
The airline is closely monitoring the geopolitical tension in the Middle East and has contingency plans in place, Mr Neves said. It is ready to shift capacity to other regions in its global network if necessary.
“We sell only about 40 per cent of our tickets in the region, 60 per cent of the tickets are outside of the region,” he said.
“We faced some geopolitical tensions in regions that we fly to, last year, and we managed to compensate with [other] regions,” he said. “We are ready … we're going to manage it. We have our backup plans.”
