Etihad here for long haul

ETIHAD AIRWAYS boss James Hogan made a flying visit to Ireland this week, taking a tour of the new Terminal 2 at Dublin airport and calling on Taoiseach Brian Cowen.

Michael O’Leary might view T2 as a white elephant, but Hogan is a fan of the shiny new building, which is slated to open in November. “It’s outstanding,” the Aussie told me over coffee in the Merrion Hotel yesterday. “I think it’s a winner. It was a courageous move in the recession so well done to the DAA.”

Does the opening of T2 offer expansion opportunities for Etihad? “Yes it does,” was Hogan’s response. “We’re flying 10 times a week at present and we’d like to get this to 14.”

But that is likely to be a couple of years away. Hogan told me that Etihad’s executive lounge in T2, which is costing €1 million to fit out, will open in the first week of January, employing five staff. “It will be the same standard as the lounge that we have in Abu Dhabi,” he said.

The airline will also seek to recruit cabin crew here as part of a global campaign to hire 200 new staff as it continues to expand its network.

“Dublin will be one of the key recruitment areas for us. We’d like to see more people from Ireland working for us.”

Hogan was keeping mum on Etihad’s financials in Ireland. No figures are published, but he said the route was “profitable” and achieves average load factors of 80 per cent.

“There’s a lot of Irish business being done in the Middle East,” Hogan said, adding that its economy class attracts backpackers and holidaymakers to Asia and Australia; migrant workers from the likes of the Philippines; and those leaving Ireland in search of work in Australia. About 70 per cent of travellers from Ireland are using Abu Dhabi as a hub to fly onwards to Australia and Asia.

The airline has carried about 330,000 passengers between Dublin and Abu Dhabi since launching in 2007 and Hogan said the business has held up well in the recession. Hogan has promoted Irish country manager Beatrice Cosgrove to the position of area general manager for northern Europe. She will have responsibility for Ireland, Germany, France, Belgium and Belarus.

Australian Justin Warby is moving from Abu Dhabi to take charge of the Irish office.

“Dublin’s an important route for us. We’re here for the long haul,” said Hogan.