Abu Dhabi: Etihad Airways, Abu Dhabi-based international airline, expects to break even in 2011, a top company official said yesterday.
Wayne Pearce, chief strategy and planning officer at Etihad, told reporters that this year the airline plans to add three new flight destinations — Colombo in Sri Lanka and Nagoya and Tokyo in Japan.
"By the end of 2010, Etihad will be flying to 63 destinations," he said.
As well, Pearce said this year, Etihad will have three new passenger aircraft joining its fleet which would take its fleet size to 55 aircraft. Also, three Airbus A330 freighters will be delivered for its cargo needs.
"We are taking delivery of three Airbus A330-300s this year and the three freighters. Next year, we will take delivery of three Boeing 777 aircraft, one Airbus A320 aircraft and three Airbus A330 aircraft. By 2020 we will have 153 aircraft in our fleet," Pearce added.
Etihad previously estimated an average 14 per cent airline capacity growth through to 2020. Last year, Etihad's new flight destinations were Melbourne, Chicago, Athens, Istanbul, Larnaca and Hyderabad.
Etihad is aiming to fly 25 million passengers a year by 2020 and expand its network to up to 100 destinations.
