Etihad registers highest-ever passenger, cargo growth in 2013

Nearly 12 mn flew with Etihad Airways last year, an increase of nearly 16% against 2012's figure of 10.3 mn

Etihad Airways, which acquired stake in India's Jet Aiways, carried a record 12 million passengers last year, that also saw the Abu Dhabi-based airline achieve its highest-ever cargo volumes.

Nearly 12 million people flew with Etihad Airways last year, marking an increase of nearly 16% in comparison to 2012's figure of 10.3 million.

Bangkok was once again the airline's busiest route, with a total of 742,759 passengers flying to Thailand's capital in 2013, a year-on-year increase of seven%.

Manila was the second busiest route (547,068 passengers), followed by London (544,564 passengers), Jeddah (373,651 passengers) and Paris (338,969 passengers).

Etihad Airways carried 73% of over 16.4 million passengers who travelled through Abu Dhabi airport in 2013. With the addition of the airline's equity alliance partners that operate flights into Abu Dhabi, the combined total rises to 79% of passenger traffic at Abu Dhabi airport.

"Our record-breaking numbers in 2013 reflect the continued success of our strategic master plan, which focuses on three fundamental pillars; organic network growth, the forging of codeshare partnerships, and minority equity investments in other airlines," said James Hogan, president and chief executive officer of Etihad Airways.

In August, the airline formalised a five-year contract to manage Serbia's national carrier Air Serbia (formerly Jat Airways), with a 49% equity stake.

This was followed in November, when the airline obtained regulatory approval from India to finalise a 24% investment in Jet Airways, and announced its intention to acquire 33.3% of the Swiss regional carrier Darwin Airline, which will become the first airline to operate under the new brand of Etihad Regional.

The airline also registered an impressive cargo growth, with 486,753 tonnes of freight and mail flown by Etihad Airways last year, an increase of 32% compared to 2012 volumes.

Established markets such as China, Hong Kong and India were top performers, in addition to expanding markets such as the Netherlands and the United States.