Etihad Airways said on Wednesday its second quarter revenue jumped 31 per cent to $1.25 billion (Dh4.59 billion) over $957 million in the same period in 2011, as passenger numbers were boosted by the airline’s continued strategy of striking partnerships and codeshare alliances with other airlines.
While the airline did not divulge any profit numbers, it said that the first-half revenues for 2012 went up 30 per cent to $2.24 billion as against $1.73 billion in the same period last year.
Etihad Airways posted its first profit last year achieving net income of $14 million.
Passenger numbers in the second quarter touched 2.55 million, up 34 per cent from Q2, 2011, and 4.89 million in the first half of the year, according to Etihad.
“The record results were boosted by the airline’s growing network of codeshares and strategic partnerships which together fed 800,000 passengers into Etihad Airways’ network in the last six months, contributing $281 million,” the Abu Dhabi-based carrier said in a statement.
The second quarter of 2012 saw Etihad Airways taking minority equity stakes in Aer Lingus and in Virgin Australia, adding to its minority shareholdings in airberlin and Air Seychelles.
“In a quarter when many airlines have seen demand softening, we have been able to add more passengers than ever before, with growth outstripping our capacity increases,” James Hogan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways, said in a statement, adding that the results are a result of the airline’s continued focus on its organic growth plan.
Commenting on Etihad’s performance, US-based aviation analyst, Addison Schonland, founder and partner at AirInsight, said that the results are “impressive”, “especially in light of continued growth at Emirates and Qatar Airways”.
“While there has been traffic growth [in the Gulf], it has not been at this level, and therefore, Etihad is taking market share from competitors. In addition, Etihad’s strategy of strategic partnerships is apparently working – growth is coming without any constraint imposed by countries the airline flies to,” he told Gulf News.
Echoing his thoughts is Geneva-based Andrew Charlton of Aviation Advocacy in Geneva. “These are interesting numbers. Revenue was largely in line with passenger numbers, which is impressive. That both are growing faster than capacity is very impressive in this economic environment, he said, adding that the numbers seem to vindicate Etihad’s expansion strategy with strong contributions from its equity partners helping to drive passenger number increases.
Further, a 30 per cent in year-to-date revenues “speaks volumes”, according to Saj Ahmad of StrategicAero Research. “This is when you consider just how many other airlines across the globe are struggling to capture, let alone maintain high yield customers. But Etihad’s investment in new airplanes, products and better connectivity on partner airlines has seen the airline carry a record number of passengers and thus boost its load factors,” he said.
Chief executive Hogan said that despite industry challenges such as the European debt crisis, the airline was on track for a successful full-year.
Asked about the airline’s projected performance in the second half of the year, Hogan told Gulf News in a phone interview on Wednesday: “The third quarter is an important quarter of the year. We remain on track to achieve our objectives for the year. We can achieve another profitable year this year.”
Last month the global aviation body, IATA (International Air Transport Association) reported that the recent fall in oil prices had been offset by the continued and deepening European sovereign debt crisis, which had led markets to expect a further deterioration and damage to economic growth.
“This continues to be a tough operating environment for all airlines. Our strategies allow us to drive quality revenue and we remain focused and on track to deliver profitability for the full year, for the second year running,” said Hogan.
