Etihad boss confident of adding jobs and flights

THE boss of Etihad, the Abu-Dhabi based airline expects further major investment in Manchester in the next few years, leading to hundreds more jobs.

Already this year, the airline has unveiled a series of commercial partnerships and increased its flights out of Manchester Airport from daily to double-daily.

The two most significant deals are to locate a new customer contact centre at Manchester Airport – a move that will create 160 jobs and open next year – and the mammoth 10 sponsorship with Manchester City Football Club, worth a reported £25m a year.

James Hogan, told TheBusinessDesk.com: “Manchester and the North of England an important region for Etihad, with good business traffic, good leisure traffic and good ethic traffic.

“We are in this market for the long haul and what we have seen so far is just the first stage, so within five years I would expect a third daily service – that’s why we invested in the business lounge this year.”

He said he expects employment growth at the contact centre over the next few years too: “Over the next three to five years we can get to 400 people,” he stated.

Even with the challenging business environment in Europe, Mr Hogan said that Etihad’s international reach – the carrier operates 86 routes – was helping it to grow.

“Out of Manchester, we are pleased – we have over 78% seat capacity – that has held up even in the last few months.”

Although he has yet to attend a Manchester City home game at the Etihad Stadium this season – the 53-year-old Abu Dhabi-based Australian  – said he is “delighted” at the international profile the airline is achieving through the sponsorship deal amid City’s rise to the top of the Barclays Premier League.

“We see the arrangement with Manchester City as a great partnership – the club has been revitalised in recent years and our 10 year sponsorship is an extension ouf our relationship.

“With our sponsorship of the Etihad Arena in Melbourne, where we are five years through a 10-year sponsorship, we know what can be achieved. The deal has helped us get on the map in Australiaand we expect the Manchester City sponsorship to do the same.”