Speaking in Sydney at the CAPA Australia Pacific Aviation Summit, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways, James Hogan, said Australia was a key and long-term market for the airline and one for which there were exciting growth plans.
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, outlined a range of major changes to its Australian operations, including new aircraft, new routes, additional flights and new airport facilities.
Hogan said the airline’s future steps for Australia including Airbus A380 aircraft from Sydney and Melbourne to Abu Dhabi; construction of premium lounges at Sydney and Melbourne Airports from 2014; additional flights from Melbourne and Brisbane to Abu Dhabi and commencement of nonstop flights between Perth and Abu Dhabi.
He also reaffirmed that Etihad Airways was already moving to increase its equity in Virgin Australia, following recent approval by the Foreign Investment Review Board to increase from a 10 per cent shareholding to 19.9 per cent.
“Virgin Australia is a key member of our ever-expanding airline equity alliance, and Etihad Airways is an active and long-term investor in Virgin,” Hogan said.
“The Virgin Australia partnership enables us to connect with 45 destinations in Australia, New Zealand and South-East Asia, while we reciprocate by providing connections via our Abu Dhabi hub to a wide range of destinations in Europe, UK, Ireland and Africa.”
Hogan also highlighted the contribution of codeshare partners such as Air France, KLM, Alitalia and Air Serbia to strengthening Etihad Airways’ position between Australia and Europe.
“Together with our partners, we have a continuous wave of flights coming down from Europe over our global hub in Abu Dhabi with connections to a significant network of destinations,” he said.
Hogan said the Etihad Airways equity alliance – an alternative to legacy airline alliances – now had five members, following a deal last week to invest in Serbia’s national airline.
Etihad Airways also is awaiting regulatory approval for investment in a sixth airline, India’s Jet Airways, which gives the equity alliance a combined total of more than 420 destinations, 500 aircraft and more than 96 million passengers each year.
While in Sydney, Hogan will also host a VIP event at Sydney Opera House to celebrate Etihad Airways’ 10th anniversary and its sixth year of flying to Australia. The airline is a major partner of Sydney Opera House having signed a three-year agreement with the iconic World Heritage-listed performing arts centre in January this year.