Etihad declares Manila busiest route

Third busiest for its route Network

January 23, 2012

UAE - Abu Dhabi based Etihad Airways disclosed Manila to be one of the airline's busiest route sector next to London and Bangkok as it recorded 8.29 million passengers flown in 2011, a 17 percent increase from the previous year.

Etihad plans to launch flight to Cebu this year

The airline carried more than 500,000 passengers to and from the Thai capital followed by London (479,000), and Manila (446,000). The fourth on the list is Jeddah (289,000) representing a staggering 48-percent increase over 2010 figures followed by Sydney, Frankfurt, Paris, Manchester, Doha and Dublin to complete the list of the 10 most popular routes.

“This result, achieved while much of the world was still very much in the economic doldrums and oil prices remained high, is testament to our emergence as a formidable force in the international aviation arena,” Etihad Airways president and chief executive officer James Hogan said.

The jump represented an extra 1.197 million passengers on the carrier’s global network covering 82 passenger and cargo destinations.

Etihad Crystal Cargo also enjoyed similar growth registering 310, 000 tons, 18 percent more than in 2010.

 “In cargo, the strongest growth was seen out of Europe as exports from markets such as Germany and Italy held firm during a challenging back half of the year,” Hogan said.

 “We launched freighter services into Amsterdam, Cairo, Djibouti, Kabul and Kandahar during the year, increased operations to our key markets of China and India while growing Johannesburg by up to three freighters a week. A priority product Fast-Track was launched offering shorter transit time and expedited delivery as well as a guaranteed service delivery. Expanded trucking schedules within the UAE and new service to points in the GCC region provided more solutions for customers,” he said.

Etihad operates double daily schedule out of Manila using its biggest plane, the Boeing 777-300ER. It plans to launch flight direct to Cebu this year together with another gulf Airline. Only Qatar airways serve the port of Cebu.