Business | Aviation
Etihad reports 40% rise in first-quarter traffic
Etihad Airways said it carried 1.4 million passengers in the first three months of 2008 compared to one million in the same period of 2007, an increase of 40 per cent.
- Staff Report
- Published: 00:01 April 2, 2008
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Etihad launches flights to Beijing
Etihad launches flights to Chinese capital Beijing
Dubai: Etihad Airways on Tuesday said it carried 1.4 million passengers in the first three months of 2008 compared to one million in the same period of 2007, an increase of 40 per cent.
The record-breaking first quarter keeps the airline on track to achieve its 2008 target of six million passengers.
The airline achieved an average seat load factor of 75 per cent across its network of 45 destinations during the first quarter of this year.
Year-on-year, the airline's seat factor has increased by seven percentage points as Etihad continues to expand its global flight schedule and add aircraft to a fleet which will grow to 40 by the end of 2008.
Yield, the average amount received per ticket, also rose by 25 per cent compared to the same period last year.
Etihad has launched one new destination so far this year, having started flights to Beijing on March 30.
In the summer, the airline will also begin flying to Kozhikode and Chennai after securing flying rights earlier this year to four new destinations in India.
Etihad is currently finalising flights to two other Indian destinations - Jaipur and Kolkata.
The airline also plans to fly to Moscow and the Kazakh city of Almaty in December and to the Belarus capital of Minsk early next year. Etihad will also boost its flights to Australia by the end of this year by increasing its present daily service to Sydney to 11 flights per week.
Record-breaking run
James Hogan, chief executive, said: "The performance of Etihad during the first quarter of 2008 has been outstanding, breaking all previous records.
"As we continue to expand our global network and strengthen our schedule, we remain confident of achieving our target of carrying six million passengers by the end of the year."
Etihad's Asia Pacific services turned in a particularly strong performance with overall seat load factors averaging 85 per cent across the region, led by Bangkok (91 per cent), Sydney (88 per cent), Manila (86 per cent) and Jakarta (84 per cent).
Routes in the Middle East which performed well during the quarter include those to Amman and Damascus, which achieved average seat load factors of 81 and 75 per cent, respectively.
The first quarter also witnessed record performance by Etihad's cargo division.
Etihad Crystal Cargo handled more than 60,000 global shipments, an increase of 20 per cent compared to the first three months of 2007.
These shipments had a combined weight of more than 43,000 tonnes.
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