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Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways carried a record
8.29 million passengers in 2011, a 17% increase on the previous
year.
The jump represents an extra 1.197 million passengers on the
carrier’s global network covering 82 passenger and cargo
destinations. Etihad Crystal Cargo also enjoyed similar growth
carrying a record 310,000 tonnes, 46,875 tonnes or 18% more than
in 2010.
“This result, achieved while much of the world
was still very much in the economic doldrums and oil prices
remained high, is testament to our emergence as a formidable force
in the international aviation arena,” said Etihad Airways President and
Chief Executive Officer, Mr James Hogan. “It
also reflects our commitment to sensible, strategic expansion
which is why we launched eight new routes last year.”
These were to Bangalore, the Maldives, the Seychelles,
Chengdu, Dusseldorf, Tripoli, Shanghai and Nairobi.
Etihad
Airways’ busiest route was Bangkok with the airline carrying more
than 500,000 passengers to the Thai capital during the year.
This was closely followed by London (479,000), Manila
(446,000), and Jeddah (289,000) which represented a 48% increase over 2010.
Then came Sydney,
Frankfurt, Paris, Manchester, Doha and Dublin to complete the list
of the 10 most popular routes.
“In cargo, the
strongest growth was seen out of Europe as exports from markets
such as Germany and Italy held firm during a challenging back half
of the year,” Mr Hogan said. “We launched freighter
services into Amsterdam, Cairo, Djibouti, Kabul and Kandahar
during the year, increased operations to our key markets of China
and India while growing Johannesburg by up to three freighters a
week.”
A priority product Fast-Track was launched
offering shorter transit time and expedited delivery as well as a
guaranteed service delivery. Expanded trucking schedules within
the UAE and new service to points in the GCC region also provided more
solutions for customers.
Etihad Crystal Cargo
introduced its first Boeing 777F during the year with two more now
scheduled for delivery in 2013.
“We also delivered
exceptional service moving rare and precious goods. These included
100 historic manuscripts from Berlin’s State Library (Staatsbibliothek
zu Berlin) to the National Library of Australia (NLA) in Canberra
and live sturgeon to the first caviar producing firm in the UAE,
Royal Caviar ... And we continued to facilitate trade
to and from the UAE as the National Carrier and assisted many projects, shows and events as well as humanitarian missions
fulfilling our role as a member of Care by Air,” Mr Hogan said.
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