The New Nation - Internet Edition

Etihad Airways has enjoyed a record-breaking first quarter and remains on track to achieve its 2008 target of carrying six million passengers by the end of the year.

The Abu Dhabi-based airline carried 1.4 million passengers during the first three months of 2008, compared to one million for the same period in 2007, an increase of 40 per cent. The airline achieved average seat factors of 75 per cent across its network of 45 destinations during the first quarter of 2008, which covers the months of January, February and March.

Year-on-year, the airline's seat factor has increased by seven percentage points as Etihad continues to expand its global flight schedule and add aircraft to a fleet which will grow to 40 by the end of 2008.

Yield, the average amount received per ticket, also rose by 25 per cent compared to the same period last year. Etihad has launched one new destination so far in 2008, starting flights to Beijing on 30 March. In the summer, the airline will also begin flying to James Hogan, Etihad Airways' chief executive, 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.

A key highlight of the first quarter has been the performance of Etihad's premium cabins. Across the network, the airline's award-winning business class cabin achieved an average seat factor of 77 per cent.

James said: "For seat factors in business class to be higher than the economy cabin is highly unusual and certainly one of the most pleasing features of our quarter one performance. 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."

The announcement of Etihad's first quarter performance follows the recent introduction of the airline's new summer flying programme. The programme, 47 per cent larger than summer 2007, will see Etihad operate a total of 728 weekly flights compared to 494 in the same period last year.