Etihad Airways, the state carrier of Abu Dhabi, is in talks about delaying receipt of Airbus A380 superjumbos while bringing other deliveries forward as it seeks to post a profit by the end of next year.
Etihad will add three new Airbus A330 jetliners this year, CEO James Hogan said yesterday in an interview. Delivery of 10 A380s has been pushed back to 2013 from late in 2012 and the carrier will continue to review the handover schedule as it awaits a production update from Airbus.
Traffic has gained in the first quarter versus a year earlier, led by "strong" bookings in coach and business-class, Hogan said, though first-class sales aren't yet back to normal.
"People are still spending their dollars very wisely," the CEO said in the interview in Abu Dhabi. "I'm cautious, but first-quarter indicators are promising and the second quarter is on track. Let's see how the summer goes."
Etihad, which began operations in 2004 and has never posted a profit, should break even this year and doesn't intend to change its pricing strategy in response to the economic slump as yields, a measure of average fares, are "tracking back," Hogan said. Etihad began a major fleet expansion in 2008 with orders for 100 planes worth US$20 billion from Toulouse, France-based Airbus and Chicago-based Boeing Co. – (Bloomberg)
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