Gulf airline Etihad has seen strong growth in the domestic market post-pandemic and expects to carry more Indian passengers this year than in 2023, which saw around 3 million Indians board its flights, a said a senior airline executive.
The Abu Dhabi-based national carrier, according to its chief financial and commercial officer Arik De, is also a strong supporter of competition and not afraid of it. « Etihad is actually making a strong comeback in the Indian market. Our numbers are more than 10 percent higher than what they were before the pandemic, » De told PTI.
Noting that the airline returned « quite strongly » in 2023 itself, he said: « we have increased our capacity by over 40 percent, and then in 2024 we plan to finish the year with additional growth of ‘about 35 to 40 percent’. Moreover, the airline flew around three million Indians last year and this number is obviously expected to increase this year too, he said.
Highlighting that capacity growth of 10 per cent over pre-pandemic figures constitutes a strong rebound in growth in India for the airline, he said: “passenger volumes are tracking better than that and our planes are full.” It has also expanded its network in India, with fights launching in Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala this year.
He also said that Etihad still has the capacity to grow and the Indian market could see further growth in terms of the airline’s commitment to India in the future. Etihad, which was an investment partner of airline Jet Airways, currently operates 165 weekly frequencies to and from 10 Indian cities.
Etihad has a partnership with Sharjah-based Air Arabia, which also operates its services to and from India, and with its partner it offers 230 weekly flights. Etihad announced earlier this month that it had entered into a pact with five-time IPL champions Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to become its official sponsor.
The airline has definitely seen a change in traffic pattern post-pandemic. “An interesting trend we are seeing is the number of Indians, especially young people, who are willing to go to new destinations and try new things,” he said.
According to him, the airline, as part of this trend, is also seeing many more Indians in its premium cabins (business and first class), which also speaks to the strength of India’s (rapid) economic growth .
“The growth of the premium segment is greater than our overall capacity. Basically, we continue to see about 15 to 20 percent growth in our premium segments. This is one of the reasons why in India we are doing our best, in a way,” he said.
Stressing that the airline strongly believes in competition, he said: « I think (competition) is a good thing for all of us, and the winner is the Indian consumer. »
