Etihad revenues post record 39% rise in Q3

MANILA, Philippines - Etihad Airways said its revenues rose 39 percent to $1.1 billion in the third quarter as its passenger numbers went up 18 percent to 2.25 million, marking the airline’s strongest third quarter performance. Seat factor increased 3.8 percent to 80.7 percent, the highest quarterly result in its history, it added.

In a statement, Etihad said operating costs rose 12 percent, on a 12 percent rise in capacity, while non-fuel costs rose only seven percent. The airline has 81 percent of its fuel hedged for the rest of 2011.

Etihad chief executive officer James Hogan said these figures contributed to strong profitability at an EBITDAR (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortization and rentals) level and the airline had moved into monthly operating profitability.

“Despite the continuing challenges of high fuel prices and economic downturn in many of the markets in which Etihad operates, we are seeing strong growth in all our key commercial indicators,” Hogan said.

“We are doing this by creating and marketing the world’s leading air travel product, while maintaining a rigorous focus on costs. Our clear target is to break even in 2011 and this is another big step in the right direction for us. We are well on track to delivering a continuing financial return to our shareholder,” he said.

The quarter saw consistently strong performance across all markets. Particularly popular routes included those to the Americas (New York, Chicago and Toronto), Asia Pacific (Bangkok, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo, Manila, Sydney and Melbourne), Cairo, London, Dublin, Athens, and Istanbul.

Etihad has added six aircraft to its fleet in the last 12 months, enabling the airline to build greater depth into its schedule and increase weekly frequencies to key markets including Paris, Manchester, Milan, Geneva, Brussels, Bangalore and Manila.

In the coming months, Etihad will begin flying to six new destinations: the Maldives (from Nov. 1), the Seychelles (Nov. 2), Chengdu in China (Dec. 15), Düsseldorf (Dec. 16), Shanghai (March 1, 2012) and Nairobi (April 1, 2012).

“Next year we take delivery of another seven passenger aircraft – four B777-300ER aircraft, plus three A320-200s – so the careful, strategic expansion of our global network will continue apace,” Hogan said.

The record results were released just days after Etihad was named Airline of the Year in the UK’s Travel Trade Gazette (TTG) Awards and was voted Business Airline of the Year by readers of The Guardian and Observer newspapers, the latest in a series of awards recognizing its service in key global markets.