Etihad passengers up by 23 per cent in 2014

On December 23, an Etihad Airbus A380 taxis towards Abu Dhabi International Airport’s new south runway for take-off. Ravindranath K / The National

Etihad Airways expects to carry nearly 18 million passengers via its network this year, up about 20 per cent from 2014.

Etihad plans to add 12 passenger aircraft this year and launch eight new routes – Madrid, Hong Kong, Edinburgh, Kolkata, Baku, Tbilisi, Dar es Salaam, and Entebbe.

The Abu Dhabi carrier’s forecast came after it reported more than 14 million passengers flying over its network in 2014, as it added routes, flights and a stake in Italy’s Alitalia. Passenger numbers were up 23 per cent from 2013, Etihad said.

Its flights alone contributed to 74 per cent of the 19.9 million passengers that flew through Abu Dhabi International last year. Combined with its equity partners – the airlines in which Etihad owns a minority stake – it contributed to 82 per cent of the airport's traffic.

Over the past few years, Etihad has been acquiring equity stakes in struggling carriers to boost its geographic footprint and connectivity.

By the end of last year, Etihad had increased its equity alliance to eight, including Air Seychelles, airberlin, Virgin Australia, Air Serbia, Ireland’s Aer Lingus, India’s Jet Airways, Alitalia and Etihad Regional (formerly known as Darwin Airline).

Last year the equity partnerships delivered more than 3.5 million passengers on to Etihad flights, an increase of 40 per cent over 2013, Etihad said.

“Our business model, which focuses on organic network growth, codeshare partnerships and minority equity investments in other airlines, continued to yield positive results in 2014,” said James Hogan, Etihad’s president and chief executive. “[We] surpassed our double-digit targets for passenger and cargo growth.”

Just like Dubai and Doha, Abu Dhabi is using its strategic geographic location to create a connection hub for flights between Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle East with the help of its flag carrier.

Abu Dhabi Airports is building its new Midfield terminal, which is scheduled to be operational by July 2017, to accommodate the anticipated passenger growth. Its annual capacity is 12.5 million passengers, and the company plans to be able to handle more than 30 million a year after the new terminal opens.

Etihad cargo grew 17 per cent year-on-year to 568,648 tonnes in 2014, accounting for 89.6 per cent of cargo handled at the airport.

The airline also added 10 new routes to its network last year, including Medina, Los Angeles, Zurich, Rome and Perth.

In terms of codeshare agreements, Etihad signed eight deals last year. Codeshares allow airlines to market and sell tickets of one another as their own.

Etihad grew its fleet to 110 planes by the end of last year – a 24 per cent increase. The carrier received its first Airbus A380 superjumbo and Boeing 787 Dreamliner in December. It also added a further nine Airbus and six Boeing aircraft. The average age of aircraft in Etihad's fleet is 5.5 years, it said.

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