Etihad Airways has announced a 67% rise in passenger numbers for 2007.
The airline carried 2.8m passengers in 2006 and last year's numbers increased to more than 4.6m.
Load factors in business class rose to 61%, a year-on-year increase of 46%. The strongest business routes during the 12-month period were Toronto, London Heathrow, Sydney and Geneva, with average load factors of 81%, 76%, 76% and 70% respectively.
However the biggest increase was in first class, where average load factors increased by 75%.
The results are down to Etihad increasing its fleet by 13 aircraft to 37, launching nine new destinations and expanding its schedule with additional frequencies on a number of key routes.
”Our intense activity witnessed another year of significant expansion,” said Etihad Airways chief executive, James Hogan. ”The story has been one of both quantity and quality, with record passenger numbers and load factors together with growing recognition for the quality of Etihad's products and services.”
The most popular routes included Damascus and Amman (Middle East), Dhaka, Islamabad and Lahore in the Indian Subcontinent and Kathmandu, Etihad's newest destination. Since its launch last October it achieved an average load factor of 80%.
Hogan added, ”This year promises to be as exciting as the last, with key highlights including the launch of our first flights to China and the airlines move to a new, dedicated airport terminal at our home base Abu Dhabi.”
The airline will move to a new, purpose-built terminal at Abu Dhabi airport in April.
Etihad also announced today (17 January) the opening of a AED3m (”415,000) aircraft maintenance facility at its home base of Abu Dhabi.
The facility will be used for all day-to-day technical line maintenance on aircraft including hydraulic, structural and instrument checks.