Etihad expands Frequency from Sydney

[Kurt A]

Etihad Airways has announced an expanded frequency from Sydney to Abu Dhabi, adding further competition on routes to Europe.

Chief executive James Hogan was in Sydney this morning to confirm the move. It’s believed the carrier will operate a further four flights per week from Sydney, taking its total weekly services to 11. Etihad has previously flagged its desire to fly double daily on the Sydney-Abu Dhabi route (Travel Today, May 4, 2007).

Hogan was joined by New South Wales tourism minister Matt Brown for the announcement. The expanded frequency will being further competition – and much needed additional capacity – to Australia and offer more alternatives for travellers heading to the UK and Europe. Emirates is also ramping up capacity.

Etihad commenced three-times weekly services from Sydney in March last year, before moving to a daily service. Three-times weekly flights from Brisbane commenced last September. Loads on the Sydney-Abu Dhabi flights have been consistently strong, particularly business and first class sales.

Etihad is also believed to be examining a further port in Australia.

-travelweekly

[Kurt A]

Other Etihad news:

Etihad flying high in first quarter
Monday, 7 April 2008

Etihad Airways carried 1.4 million passengers during the first three months of 2008, an increase of 40 per cent when compare to the same time last year.

Year-on-year, the airline's seat factor has increased by seven per cent as Etihad continues to expand its global flight schedule. Yield also rose by 25 per cent when compared to the same period last year.

James Hogan, chief executive of Etihad Airways, said: 'The performance of Etihad during the first quarter of 2008 has been outstanding, breaking all previous records.”
“As we continue to expand our global network and strengthen our schedule, we remain confident of achieving our target of carrying six million passengers by the end of the year.”

He added: “I would like to acknowledge the support and close cooperation Etihad continues to receive from Abu Dhabi Airports Company (ADAC), Abu Dhabi Airport Services and the Department of Transport in achieving these fantastic figures.'
All of Etihad's cabins experienced increased seat factors compared to the same period in 2007, with particularly strong performances coming from the airline's first and business class cabins.

Etihad's Asia Pacific services turned in a particularly strong performance with overall seat factors averaging 85 per cent across the region, led by Bangkok (91 per cent), Sydney (88 per cent), Manila (86 per cent) and Jakarta (84 per cent).

Within Europe, services to Brussels, Manchester and Paris all achieved average seat factors of 85 per cent, whilst loads to Toronto in North America exceeded 80 per cent.

Routes in the Middle East which performed well during the quarter include Amman and Damascus, achieving average seat factors of 81 per cent and 75 per cent respectively.
Across the network, the airline's award-winning business class cabin achieved an average seat factor of 65 per cent, with particularly strong performances on routes to Toronto (83 per cent), Sydney (85 per cent) and Bangkok (85 per cent).

Hogan said: 'The performance of the premium cabins has certainly been one of the most pleasing features of quarter one.”
“These figures provide positive evidence that the continued investment we are placing during 2008 upon improving the products and services we offer our premium customers is paying dividends.”

Etihad has launched one new destination so far in 2008, starting flights to Beijing on 30 March. Later this year, the airline will also start flights to Kozhikode (Calicut) and Chennai (Madras), after securing flying rights earlier this year to four new destinations in India.
Etihad is currently finalising when it will commence flights to the two other Indian destinations of Jaipur and Kolkata (Calcutta).

[James Smith]

Were any further details released such as commencing dates etc? These additional services were originally going to commence from late March, 2008.

[Stuart Trevena]

Hi All,

I hope they include Melbourne as a Australian Port of Call.

As too many airlines service Sydney which is at stretching point, given the tight curfew hours.

They should operate some flights to / through Melbourne. i.e Abu Dhabi - Sydney via Melbourne.

This would mean us Melbourne Folk don't need to fly into Sydney, which is already crowded with passengers going outbound.

Stuart

[Nigel C]

With some smart scheduling, they could utilise Sydney during one of the many 'quiet' times during the day and early evening, when the airport isn't at your so-called 'stretching point'.

[Kurt A]

Melbourne, Perth on Etihad radar
But expansion will initially focus on Sydney and Brisbane

Melbourne or Perth is next on Etihad Airways radar, but not for at least 12 months, its chief executive has revealed. James Hogan, in Sydney to announce an expanded frequency from the city, said it may even be up two years before it adds a new Australian gateway.

Early details of its plans emerged yesterday as the carrier confirmed it will add four weekly services between Sydney and Abu Dhabi from October 31, taking the numberof weekly services from New South Wales to 11. It also operates three weekly flights from Brisbane.

Hogan said it would initially increase to double daily from Sydney and daily from Brisbane, a move that would give Etihad 21 of its 28 available frequencies from Australia.

“That’s our first objective,” Hogan said. “But we believe we can service one more Australian city.”

When pushed further, he said: “We’d be looking at Victoria or Western Australia, in the next 12 to 24 months.” Hogan said it “couldn’t have predicted the level of success” of its Australian flights, which launched in March 2007, with load factors from Sydney of 88 per cent and 71 from Brisbane.

He added that the Gulf was taking business from the traditional Asia hubs, with Etihad able to fly passengers around the world from Abu Dhabi. Hogan said its catchment area had a combined population similar to China. The huge development of Abu Dhabi, and the increasing numbers of Australian companies in the region, was driving business while more and more travellers are hubbing in the region en route to Europe.

Additional capacity between the Gulf and Australia will see New South Wales attract more than 80,000 travellers from the region over the next few years, tourism minister Matt Brown has said.
He forecast that the state will welcome 83,000 arrivals from the Gulf countries by 2016, up from the 24,000 in 2007.

-travelweekly

[Rhys Xanthis]

Its going to be interesting to see how this unfolds.

Melbourne obviously has demand, but that said, so does Perth (and its increasing).

I guess its just has more demand for flights through to middle east and beyond. I think EK has a pretty good covering for PER at the moment...perhaps their continued growth since they came to PER might entice Etihad?