Etihad Airways plans to triple its passenger numbers to 30 million by 2030. Photo: Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways plans to triple its passenger numbers to 30 million by 2030. Photo: Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways plans to triple its passenger numbers to 30 million by 2030. Photo: Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways plans to triple its passenger numbers to 30 million by 2030. Photo: Etihad Airways

Post-pandemic 'revenge travel' has finished but demand is high, says Etihad executive


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Post-pandemic “revenge travel” is at an end, but that has not led to a dip in demand for flights, a senior Etihad Airways executive has told The National.

It is about a year since governments began to lift the Covid-19 entry restrictions that hit the travel and tourism industries hard as the disease spread around the world.

The removal of those curbs allowed travellers to release their pent-up desire to visit new countries, also known as revenge travel.

That has aided the recovery of the sector, with the World Travel and Tourism Council estimating that global tourism revenue would reach $9.5 trillion this year.

But Edward Fotheringham, vice president of global sales at Etihad, said frustrations built up during the pandemic were now far less important to the public’s travel plans.

The Abu Dhabi airline has this month moved to cater to the high demand for travel by opening new routes to Dusseldorf, Copenhagen and Osaka.

Etihad Airways is launching flights to Osaka this month. Photo: Nomadic Julien / Unsplash
Etihad Airways is launching flights to Osaka this month. Photo: Nomadic Julien / Unsplash

“People have talked about that ‘revenge travel’ after the pandemic, the huge amount of demand – and actually we are seeing that continue,” Fotheringham said from Copenhagen Airport, moments before the inaugural flight between the Danish capital and Abu Dhabi took off.

“I personally think revenge travel has finished and this is about that great demand, because through the pandemic people realised that connections with each other were the important part of travel.”

The National was onboard Etihad’s maiden flight to Copenhagen last week, which marked the airline’s first venture into Scandinavia.

Etihad’s chief financial officer, Raffael Quintas, told passengers and officials at the city’s airport that the flights were “a huge milestone” for the airline.

Fotheringham described the market as “just massive” and said Etihad aimed to “cover the whole of the south of Sweden and Denmark”.

“Etihad is looking at its 2030 journey and we plan to triple our passenger numbers to 30 million, we’re hoping to double our fleet and we’re hoping to double the number of destinations,” he said.

“We are always on the lookout for exciting new destinations. I’ve been in Dusseldorf, where we’ve reintroduced a flight after four years. Then there is Osaka in Japan.

“The network growth is absolutely fantastic and gives customers that great connectivity, either from Abu Dhabi, going around the world, or from Copenhagen.”

Nyhaven Harbour in Copenhagen is one of the Danish capital's most famous tourist spots. Photo: Ava Coploff / Unsplash
Nyhaven Harbour in Copenhagen is one of the Danish capital's most famous tourist spots. Photo: Ava Coploff / Unsplash

The Gulf has welcomed an increasing number of visitors in the past two years owing to global events including Expo 2020 Dubai and the Fifa World Cup in Qatar.

The UAE is also to host the Cop28 climate change summit between November 30 and December 12.

Hotel industry experts have said about a third of all rooms in Dubai have been booked for the first days of Cop28.

Fotheringham said Abu Dhabi tourism sector was also benefiting from an increase in visitors.

“Abu Dhabi is becoming a world city today, with all of its cultural attractions, like Louvre and all the ones about to open up, as well as the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque and also that entertainment side, be it the F1, be it Ferrari World,” he said.

“How Abu Dhabi Inc is investing around the world, that is driving more people into Abu Dhabi.”

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Founder: Abdulla Almoayed

Based: UAE

Founded: 2017

Number of employees: 35

Sector: FinTech

Raised: $13 million

Backers: Berlin-based venture capital company Target Global, Kingsway, CE Ventures, Entrée Capital, Zamil Investment Group, Global Ventures, Almoayed Technologies and Mad’a Investment.

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Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

The years Ramadan fell in May

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COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Cofe

Year started: 2018

Based: UAE

Employees: 80-100

Amount raised: $13m

Investors: KISP ventures, Cedar Mundi, Towell Holding International, Takamul Capital, Dividend Gate Capital, Nizar AlNusif Sons Holding, Arab Investment Company and Al Imtiaz Investment Group 

Tearful appearance

Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday. 

Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow. 

She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.

A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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1st ODI Zimbabwe won by 6 wickets

2nd ODI Sri Lanka won by 7 wickets

3rd ODI Sri Lanka won by 8 wickets

4th ODI Zimbabwe won by 4 wickets

5th ODI Zimbabwe won by 3 wickets

Sanju

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Director: Rajkumar Hirani

Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Anushka Sharma, Manish’s Koirala, Dia Mirza, Sonam Kapoor, Jim Sarbh, Boman Irani

Rating: 3.5 stars

What can victims do?

Always use only regulated platforms

Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion

Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)

Report to local authorities

Warn others to prevent further harm

Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence

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Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo

Starring: Robert Downey Jr, Chris Evans, Scarlett Johansson, Chris Hemsworth, Josh Brolin

4/5 stars 

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Updated: October 05, 2023, 8:30 AM`