Business | Aviation
Etihad targets Dh73m fuel bill cut
Etihad Airways hopes to trim its annual fuel bill by Dh73 million this year through efficiency measures supported by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the airline said on Monday.
- By Natasha Marrian, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:23 November 4, 2008
Dubai: Etihad Airways hopes to trim its annual fuel bill by Dh73 million this year through efficiency measures supported by the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the airline said on Monday.
It undertook a comprehensive review of all aspects of flight operations at the beginning of the year to identify areas where its fuel bill could be reduced.
The high cost of jet fuel has plagued the industry despite oil prices falling dramatically in recent weeks.
The global impact of the US financial crisis added further volatility to fuel prices. A drop in passenger traffic was also noted by the IATA.
Globally passenger traffic declined by 2.9 per cent in September and cargo volume dropped 7.7 per cent compared to the same month in 2007.
International load factors tumbled by 4.4 percentage points from August to 74.8 per cent in September, the IATA said.
Deterioration
"The deterioration in traffic is alarmingly fast-paced and widespread. We have not seen such a decline in passenger traffic since SARS in 2003," said IATA director general and chief executive, Giovanni Bisignani in a statement.
"Even the good news that the oil price has fallen to half its July peak is not enough to offset the impact of the drop in demand. At this rate, losses may be even deeper than our forecast $5.2 billion (Dh19.1 billion) for this year," he said.
The 23 fuel-efficiency measures have been fully or partially implemented by Etihad resulting in a Dh44 million saving so far this year. It remained on track to achieve its Dh73 million target by the end of the year.
"With the high price of aviation fuel and against deteriorating global economic backdrop, it is increasingly important that Etihad does all it can to control its cost base," said Captain Richard Hill, Etihad Airways' executive vice-president of operations.
"Fuel is now Etihad's largest single cost and accounts for between 35 and 40 per cent of the airline's annual expenditure. This is an area where we are heavily focused to try and generate significant and sustained savings."
The measures include reducing the weight on board the aircraft, changing certain operating procedures, reducing cruise speed where appropriate and increasing the frequency of engine washes.
The airline's renewed focus upon on-time performance, particularly at its Abu Dhabi base, has also resulted in significant fuel savings, with year-on-year punctuality improvements resulting in aircraft spending less time on the ground, the airline said.
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