ABU
DHABI --- Etihad Airways President and Chief Executive Officer James Hogan on
Tuesday spoke of the importance of collaboration within the aviation industry
to drive change and give consumers the benefits they deserve.
Addressing
the International Air Transport Association (IATA) Aviation Day in Abu Dhabi,
Hogan said Etihad Airways’ successful partnership strategy could become a model
for other players.
He
told the audience that partnerships and collaboration were the most tangible
way to grow in today’s highly competitive business environment, providing
consumers with greater choice and connectivity.
"Ways
of doing business globally have changed over the years and aviation, like many
other industries, must adapt and change.
"In
union there is strength and a shared vision. At Etihad Airways we have seen the
results of working together which go well beyond commercial benefits.
"Industry
observers originally questioned our equity investment strategy. Three years on,
we have proved the skeptics wrong. Our organic growth has been supported by
successful code share partnerships, minority investments in selected airlines
around the world, and deep commercial agreements with competitors and
non-competitors – all to provide an enhanced global offering to the travelling
public."
Etihad
Airways currently operates a fleet of 119 aircraft flying almost 15 million
passengers annually to 113 passenger and cargo destinations around the world.
With a family of seven equity partners, Etihad Airways has a combined strength
of over 330 unduplicated destinations, more than 700 aircraft and 110 million
passengers. With the 49 code share partners, the combined strength is 600 cities
globally.
"No
airline can ever achieve scale of such proportions by going out alone,"
Hogan added.
"Working
together brings alignment across our partner which has to be good for the
consumer. Business and leisure travelers are demanding. They want, and rightly
so, choices in product, service, loyalty rewards, network, schedules,
convenience and consistency.
"Through
cooperation we also enjoy significant cost reduction opportunities such as
joint procurement of assets, services and supplies. We recently concluded an
innovative financing transaction involving some of our equity partners which
raised US$700 million across international markets to fuel growth collectively,
a clear endorsement of our business model."
During
his presentation, Hogan spoke about the tremendous economic and social benefits
in countries where Etihad Airways had established equity partnerships.
As
the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, he said Etihad Airways was
proud to fly the nation’s flag to all corners of the world, being an economic
vehicle of Abu Dhabi and the UAE, and working towards the country’s 2030 vision
for a more sustainable and diversified economy.
Despite
all the positive measures taken by the airline to compete and grow its
business, he also spoke of the challenges of operating in the Middle East and
Africa, the region which forms the focus of the two-day IATA Aviation Day
conference.
"The
ongoing instability and conflicts in parts of the region continue to affect the
performance of the business. So too do security concerns deterring leisure travelers,
as well as rising infrastructure costs, increasingly crowded skies and
austerity measures impacting consumer spending," he said.
"Like
rest of the industry we are not immune to these challenges, but collectively,
as an industry, not in isolation, we can work towards finding solutions and
come up with a framework that is both workable and competitively feasible.
"It
is here that industry cooperation can be mutually beneficial and provide a win
- win situation for all," the president of Etihad Airways added.
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