Etihad Airways achieved its highest ever passenger and cargo volumes in 2013, the firm has triumphantly announced.
Nearly 12 million people flew with Etihad Airways last year - an increase of almost 16 per cent in comparison to 2012's figure of 10.3 million.
Bangkok was the airline's busiest route, with a total of 742,759 passengers flying to Thailand's capital city in 2013, a year-on-year increase of seven per cent. Manila was second (547,068 passengers), followed by London (544,564), Jeddah (373,651) and Paris (338,969).
Etihad Airways also said it carried 73 per cent of the more than 16.4 million passengers who travelled through Abu Dhabi airport last year.
James Hogan, the firm's president and chief executive officer, said: "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."
Six destinations were introduced to Etihad's network in 2013: Washington DC, Amsterdam, Sao Paulo, Belgrade, Sana'a and Ho Chi Minh City. Frequencies were also increased on 18 existing routes last year and new codeshare agreements were signed with Kenya Airways, Air Serbia, South African Airways, Belavia, Korean Airlines, Air Canada and airBaltic.
During 2013, the firm's codeshare and equity partnerships added more than 1.8 million passengers on to Etihad Airways flights, 38 per cent higher than the 1.3 million in 2012.
And in addition to its four existing equity partners - airberlin, Air Seychelles, Virgin Australia and Aer Lingus - Etihad Airways also invested in three additional carriers in 2013, including a five-year contract to manage Serbia's national carrier, Air Serbia (formerly Jat Airways), with a 49 per cent equity stake.
Meanwhile, cargo growth was also reported, with 486,753 tonnes of freight and mail flown by Etihad last year, an increase of 32 per cent. Hogan said: "This has been another game-changing year."
© 7Days 2014
