Etihad Airways reports strong growth in 2015

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The airline carried 17.4 million passengers last year, a significant increase of 17 per cent over 2014 levels, and operated 97,400 flights which covered 467 million kilometres. The growth in passenger demand continued to surpass the airline's capacity increase, underscoring the strength of its long-term growth strategy.

In total, Etihad Airways carried more than 75 per cent of the total passengers who travelled to and from Abu Dhabi International Airport in 2015. With the addition of the airline's equity partners that operate flights into the UAE capital, the combined total rises to 84 per cent of passenger traffic at Abu Dhabi International Airport.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways' president and chief executive officer, said: "In 2015, we were able to bring new competitive choice to millions of travellers, through our award-winning services and through the growing networks of our equity partners. "

New destinations with an expanded fleet

Etihad Airways introduced six additional destinations to its global route network in 2015, with new flights to Kolkata, Madrid, Edinburgh, Entebbe, Hong Kong, and Dar es Salaam, and a new direct service to Brisbane.

Last year also saw Etihad Airways' fleet boosted with the deployment of the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner, which entered commercial service on routes to Washington DC, Zurich, Singapore and Brisbane. The Airbus A380 network was expanded with a second service to London Heathrow and new flights to Sydney and New York.

This year, the airline will commence its third daily A380 service to London Heathrow, and will add two new A380 destinations of Mumbai and Melbourne, while the Boeing 787 will start flying to five new cities, namely Düsseldorf, Perth, Shanghai, Istanbul and Johannesburg.

Etihad Airways increased frequencies on 16 existing routes across the world in 2015. These were Bangkok, Chennai, Dammam, Delhi, Hong Kong, Hyderabad, Istanbul, Jeddah, Kochi, Kozhikode, Melbourne, Mumbai, Muscat, Seychelles, Tehran and Trivandrum.

Codeshare agreements and partnerships

The airline also expanded its codeshare and equity partnerships last year. These partnerships delivered more than five million passengers onto Etihad Airways' flights, an increase of 43 per cent over the 3.5 million passengers in 2014.

A new codeshare agreement was launched with Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), while Etihad Airways' existing codeshares with Air Serbia, American Airlines, flynas, Jet Airways, Korean Air, NIKI and S7 Airlines were significantly expanded. As a result, Etihad Airways now offers a combined passenger and cargo network of nearly 600 destinations through its 197 interline and 49 codeshare partnerships.

In April 2015, the airline obtained regulatory approval from Switzerland's Federal Office of Civil Aviation, FOCA, to finalise a 33.3 per cent investment in the Swiss regional carrier, Darwin Airline. In June, Darwin Airline, trading as Etihad Regional, became the latest addition to Etihad Airways' equity partners network, which also includes airberlin, Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, Alitalia, Jet Airways and Virgin Australia. Etihad Airways' equity partnerships represent the seventh largest global grouping of airlines, together flying more than 100 million guests.

Strong cargo volumes

Etihad Airways also reported strong cargo volumes for 2015, with 592,090 tonnes of freight and mail flown in total, a four per cent increase year-on-year. The airline accounted for 88 per cent of cargo imports, exports and transfers at Abu Dhabi International Airport last year.

During 2015, Etihad Cargo enhanced its global reach by offering bellyhold capacity on Etihad Airways' six new passenger destinations, bringing to 96 the total number of passenger destinations on which cargo services are currently provided. Etihad Cargo also expanded its freighter services to several new markets including Dakar, Nouakchott and Douala, bringing the number of freighter-only destinations operated to 20.

Etihad Airways' fleet consisted of 121 aircraft at the end of 2015 (+9 per cent year-on-year), with an average age of 5.8 years - one of the youngest and most environmentally-friendly in the industry. The airline took delivery of 11 Airbus (four A380s, six A321s and one A320) and four Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft in 2015, while further leased capacity was also added.

2016 outlook

To support the next phase of its global network expansion, Etihad Airways will receive 10 aircraft deliveries this year, including five Boeing 787-9s, three A380s and two Boeing 777-200 Freighters. Hogan said: "We enter 2016 with confidence as a stronger, more dynamic airline that will continue to support the evolution of Abu Dhabi as a global aviation hub.

"We continue to face challenges, not least the protectionism of the major American and European legacy carriers. We will continue to fight to bring new competitive choice to travellers around the world."