Etihad’s 5 years of flying today
Etihad Airways, national airlines of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), celebrates its fifth anniversary of operation today.
Over the last five years, Etihad has flown nearly 14 million passengers in more than 87,000 flights to 48 destinations across the Middle East, Africa, Australia, Europe, North America, Africa and Asia.
The airlines' fleet has grown to 39 aircraft and the number will reach 42 aircraft by the end of the year, says a press release.
James Hogan, Etihad Airways' chief executive, said: “Etihad has achieved significant growth since it took to the skies five years ago and it continues to maintain its position as the world's fastest-growing airline.
“Since our inaugural flight, we have flown 14 million business and leisure travellers and built up a global network of 48 destinations, supported by one of the youngest and most environmentally efficient aircraft fleets in the world. This is a staggering achievement and one which our airline is very proud,” he added.
The airline's incredible growth story shows little signs of slowing.
Etihad announced recently that it has set its sights on flying 25 million passengers a year and more than doubling the number of cities served to 100 by 2020.
To support this continued growth, Etihad's workforce is expected to grow to 27,000 people by 2020 from its current figure of 6,700.
The airline has carried more than 4.4 million passengers so far in 2008 and expects to carry more than six million passengers by the end of the year, with average seat factors forecast to be 75 per cent.
The number of passengers has grown from 340,000 in 2004 to one million in 2005, 2.8 million in 2006 and 4.6 million in 2007.
Etihad has launched four new destinations so far in 2008, starting flights to Beijing, the Indian cities of Kozikhode (Calicut) and Chennai (Madras) as well as Minsk, the capital city of Belarus.
The airline will launch non-stop flights from its Abu Dhabi base to Almaty in Kazakhstan on December 2 and the Russian capital, Moscow, on December 1.
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