Deena Kamel,nationalnews : Abu Dhabi airline's chief executive expects it to record a second consecutive annual profit in 2023, as it marks its 20th anniversary this month Emirati officials pose in front of the new carrier "Etihad" or "Unity" which was on show in the capital Abu Dhabi 03 November 2003. A day after the inaugural flight of Air Arabia, a no frills airline launched in the United Arab Emirates, the capital Abu Dhabi announced it would be setting up Etihad as a new carrier. Etihad, which is yet to be formally launched, is backed by the government of Abu Dhabi and has a paid up capital of 500 million dirhams (136 million dollars), reported today's Gulf News. Etihad, meaning unity, which has two leased Airbus A330-200 aircraft, will make its inaugural flight on November 5, flying from Abu Dhabi to the UAE desert city of Al Ain.

Etihad Airways is charting an ambitious growth path through to 2030, with its hub at Abu Dhabi's new airport terminal “critical” for future expansion as the airline departs from years of restructuring and losses, its chief executive Antonoaldo Neves has said.

The carrier aims to triple the number of passengers carried to 33 million, double its fleet to 150 planes and increase its available seat kilometres – a measure of an airline's seats multiplied by kilometres flown – by about 30 per cent annually over the next seven years.

To hit these targets, Etihad plans to hire hundreds of pilots and crew, build “fleet flexibility” through aircraft leasing and capitalise on efficiencies at its modern terminal, Mr Neves told The National.

“The first step is to move into the new terminal, the second step is to have a fleet plan that is flexible but at the same time allows us to grow a lot … The third step is to make sure that I get the pilots, flight attendants, mechanics and engineers needed to deliver all that growth,” he said.

Terminal A will play a key role in helping the airline expand its operations.

“The new terminal is critical; we cannot do it without Terminal A. The reason is we're going to double the size of our fleet and triple the number of passengers in seven years and this year we're going to carry 13 million passengers. But it's impossible to do more in the current terminal,” Mr Neves said.

The Abu Dhabi International, set to be renamed Zayed International Airport from February 9, 2024, “is the only airport in the region that now has two parallel runways for passenger flights … So, we can grow a lot in that airport, it has a capacity of 45 million passengers”.

Contactless travel points, the use of boarding bridges rather than buses and faster transit times for passengers means the airline is “going to be squeezing efficiencies from the new terminal”, he said.

Etihad Airways operated its first commercial flight from the new Terminal A at Abu Dhabi International Airport on October 31, revealing new lounges at the modern hub, ahead of its full transition to the new terminal building.

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