Etihad Airways Passenger Numbers up 30% in Third Quarter: Code-Share, Equity Partnerships Add 1.1 Million Passengers

The Wall Street Journal
By Rory Jones
Oct. 14, 2014 3:53 a.m. ET


DUBAI—Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways on Tuesday said it carried 30% more passengers in the third quarter of the year, as its strategy of buying into other airlines continued to feed customers on to its network and boost earnings.

The airline said revenue in the third quarter increased 29% to $1.8 billion after it carried 3.9 million passengers, compared with 3 million passengers in the same period a year earlier. The passenger growth far outstripped a 16% increase in capacity.

Code-share and equity partnerships in the third quarter added an estimated 1.1 million passengers onto Etihad flights and contributed revenue of $352 million, representing 27% of the carrier’s passenger revenue, Etihad said.

In August, Alitalia and Etihad agreed a total investment package of €1.758 billion with creditors and shareholders to revive the ailing Italian airline, a deal that hasn’t yet been completed. Etihad aims to build a network of partnerships outside the traditional airline alliances by buying minority stakes in carriers from Australia to Ireland, a strategy that has been met with opposition from some airlines and authorities in Europe.

Etihad said it launched new passenger flights to Yerevan, Perth and Rome in the third quarter and increased frequencies to eight destinations, including Dublin, Athens and Chennai. Cargo revenue was $284 million, up 16% on the same period last year, the airline added.

- Source:  http://online.wsj.com