Etihad Airways’ continued passenger growth drives revenue up 29% in Q3

Passenger numbers up 30 per cent year on year while cargo volumes increased 9 per cent.

Etihad Airways has released its third quarter results. Andrew Parsons / The National

Etihad Airways yesterday reported 29 per cent growth in third quarter revenue, boosted by strong passenger and cargo growth during the summer months.

The Abu Dhabi airline said that revenue grew to US$1.8 billion in the three months to September, up from $1.4bn in the same period last year.

Revenue from codeshares and partnerships – including Jet Airways, Virgin Australia and airberlin – hit $352 million during the period, a 44 per cent increase on last year’s figure.

Such partnerships contributed 27 per cent of the airline’s overall passenger revenue, compared with 23 per cent last year.

The airline does not share details related to its costs or overall profitability.

“Our focus on organic growth, codeshare partnerships and minority investments in other airlines has continued to produce strong results, despite the prevalence of industry challenges such as volatile oil prices, economic and political instability, overcapacity in the market, and access constraints,” said Etihad’s chief executive, James Hogan.

“We are confident about sustaining our profitability in 2014 and there are a number of important milestones in the final quarter.”

Etihad carried 3.9 million passengers in the third quarter, 30 per cent more compared with the third quarter of 2013.

Codeshare and equity partnerships delivered about 1.1 million passengers on to Etihad’s network, a year-on-year increase of 41 per cent.

Cargo volume meanwhile grew 9 per cent to 144,498 tonnes over the same period. Capacity grew 1 per cent.

“Etihad’s apparent 26 per cent increase in passenger revenue was much stronger than its 16 per cent growth in capacity,” said Will Horton, a senior analyst at Sydney-based Centre for Aviation (Capa).

Such an increase was hugely positive for Etihad, and provides a retort to accusations of excessive growth, said Mr Horton, although he noted that the yield of those passengers was not known.

Etihad signed a deal in August to acquire a 49 per cent stake in the Italian carrier Alitalia, as part of an investment package worth €1.75bn. The deal has yet to be completed.

“Partners and codeshares continue to be a unique and growing part of Etihad’s strategy, with revenue [from this segment] at 27 per cent, a staggering figure,” said Mr Horton.

“This is likely not yet at saturation as the number of partnerships is likely to grow, and existing partnerships will become deeper.”

During the third quarter, Etihad launched services to Yerevan, Perth and Rome, while flight frequency was increased on eight existing routes, including Dublin, Athens and Chennai.

The airline will launch flights to Phuket this month and to San Francisco and Dallas next month and December.

Etihad received three new jets during the quarter, taking its fleet to 105 aircraft.

Etihad is due to take delivery of another five aircraft before the end of the year, including its first Airbus A380 and Boeing 787.

The airline’s overall workforce grew 38 per cent year-on-year to 22,886 employees at the end of last month, much of which was attributable to the acquisition of Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies from Mubadala in May.

Follow The National's Business section on Twitter