Revenues rise at Etihad

Abu-Dhabi-based airline Etihad, which owns just under 3 per cent of Aer Lingus, increased its revenues by 30 per cent in the first six months of this year to $2.2 billion.

Its passenger numbers rose to 4.89 million from 3.76 million in the same period of 2011 while its average load factor increased by 4.2 percentage points to 77.1 per cent.

In the second quarter of the year, Etihad’s revenues increased by 31 per cent to $1.25 billion while its passenger traffic was up 34 per cent at 2.55 million. These sharp increases were due to increased overall capacity and improved seat factors, the company said. The average seat factor was 4.6 points higher in the quarter compared to the previous year at 77.6 per cent.

Etihad said its cargo revenues rose by 11 per cent year-on-year to $183 million in the second quarter and by 14 per cent to $348 million for the first six months of the year. There was strong growth in particular in Germany, the UK and Bangladesh, it added.

Etihad said its record results were boosted by a growing network of code sharing agreements and strategic partnerships, which together fed 800,000 passengers into its network in the past six months and contributed $281 million in revenues.

It is currently in discussions with Aer Lingus on partnership arrangements, including inter-lining of passengers and code sharing. It acquired its shares in Aer Lingus in April. The Middle East airline also owns strategic stakes in Air Berlin, Air Seychelles and Virgin Australia

Commenting on the results, Etihad’s president and chief executive James Hogan, said: “These results are an endorsement of our strategy, which has seen us widen and deepen our partnerships in addition to continued focus on our organic growth plan. This continues to be a tough operating environment for all airlines. Our strategies allow us to drive quality revenue and we remain focused and on track to deliver profitability for the full year, for the second year running.”