Etihad will acquire 155 planes

Beirut : Etihad Airways is expected to take delivery of 155 aircraft in the next three years to expand its combined fleet to 425 planes by 2014, the Abu Dhabi-based Al Ittihad daily reported yesterday, citing official data.

The national carrier currently operates 270 aircraft and this number is expected to increase to 350 in 2012, the paper reports, citing data by the UAE's General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).

Done deals

Local airlines have concluded deals worth billions of US dollars to purchase different aircraft models, the daily reports, adding that these deals include a number of transactions by Emirates airline worth more $30 billion (Dh110 billion) and a single deal by Etihad which was concluded in 2008 to buy 205 aircraft worth more than $43 billion.

Abu Dhabi airport: Traffic up 13.3% in October

Abu Dhabi: Airports Company (Adac) announced a 13.3 per cent increase in passenger traffic in October, over the same month the previous year, with passenger numbers reaching 904,000. Aircraft movements during the month grew to 9,500 while cargo traffic continued its positive course with an increase of 11 per cent.

The report indicates that the top five routes in October were London, Bangkok, Manila, Doha and Frankfurt.The Philippines and the United States comprised the higher passenger growth, mainly due to increased frequencies, followed by France and Egypt.

Ahmad Al Haddabi, senior vice-president, airports operations at Adac said: "October has been another strong month for Abu Dhabi International Airport. The continued increased traffic we are witnessing to multiple destinations around the world including North America, the Far East, Europe and the subcontinent is proof of our airport's strong network of highly demanded routes for holiday and business travellers."