Business | Aviation
Etihad expects revenue rise from new routes
Passenger sales hoped to increase by 25% despite global slump.
- By Himendra Mohan Kumar, Staff Reporter
- Published: 23:14 June 27, 2009
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Abu Dhabi: Etihad Airways expects company revenues to touch $3.1 billion (Dh11.4 billion) this year on the back of increasing passenger sales, a senior company executive said on Saturday.
Roy Kinnear, Etihad's Vice-President for Revenue Management, said he expects passenger revenues for the Abu Dhabi-based airline to increase 25 per cent this year despite difficult global market conditions.
"Factors that will help us reach this year's projected revenue target are natural expansion in growth, key destinations such as Melbourne and Chicago coming on line and strengthening of the business class performance," Kinnear told reporters on the sidelines of an aviation conference in Abu Dhabi.
Kinnear, however, couldn't immediately provide Etihad's revenue figures for last year.
"Our passenger sales have not plummeted. Our year-to-date passenger load factor is about 75 per cent before heading into the peak summer period where even higher passenger load factors are expected," said Kinnear. He said despite the pressures on the aviation industry brought on by the global economic crisis and on airlines' premium class ticket sales, Etihad's ticket sales for flights to Europe remain stronger than last year. Kinnear said Etihad's fleet size would increase to 152 aircraft by 2020.
"We see an average 14 per cent airline capacity growth through to 2020," he added.
For 2009, he said, Etihad's new flight destinations are Melbourne, Chicago, Athens, Istanbul, Larnaca and Hyderabad.
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