Etihad reports surge in passenger numbers

ETIHAD AIrways , the Middle East airline which is headline sponsor of Manchester City FC, has reported record passenger and cargo numbers for 2014.

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, said it carried nearly 14.8 million passengers last year, a 23% surge on the previous year.

As well as its sponsorship of Manchester City, its stadium and wider campus facility, Etihad employs around 200 people at a European customer support centre next to Manchester Airport.

It operates a double daily flight from Manchester to its hub in Abu Dhabi. At Abu Dhabi, the airline is responsible for nearly three quarters of all traffic.

James Hogan, president and chief executive, said: “Our business model, which focuses on organic network growth, codeshare partnerships and minority equity investments in other airlines, continued to yield positive results in 2014 and surpassed our double-digit targets for passenger and cargo growth.”

Etihad introduced 10 new destinations to its route network in 2014, with new services launched to Medina, Jaipur, Los Angeles and Zurich in the first half of the year, and Perth, Rome, Yerevan, Phuket, San Francisco and Dallas in the second half. In addition, frequencies were increased on 23 existing routes across the world in 2014.

Building on its organic growth, the airline also expanded its codeshare and equity partnerships last year. These partnerships delivered over 3.5 million passengers onto Etihad Airways flights, an increase of 40% over the 2.5 million passengers in 2013.

Etihad also reported strong cargo growth for 2014, with 568,648 tonnes of freight and mail flown in total, a 17%  increase year-on-year. The airline accounted for 89.6% of cargo imports, exports and transfers at Abu Dhabi airport last year.

Etihad Airways’ fleet consisted of 110 aircraft at the end of 2014 (+24% year-on-year), with an average age of 5.5 years. The airline took delivery of its first Airbus A380 and Boeing 787-9 in December.