Etihad Airways carried a record 8.29 million passengers in 2011, a 17% increase on the previous year – and passengers on the Dublin – Dubai route increased by 15% to 214,733. The overall increase represented an extra 1.197 million passengers on the carrier’s global network covering 82 passenger and cargo destinations.
“This result, achieved while much of the world was still very much in the economic doldrums and oil prices remained high, is testament to our emergence as a formidable force in the international aviation arena,” said James Hogan, President and Chief Executive. “It also reflects our commitment to sensible, strategic expansion, which is why we launched eight new routes last year.” These were to Bangalore, the Maldives, the Seychelles, Chengdu, Dusseldorf, Tripoli, Shanghai and Nairobi.
Etihad’s busiest route was Bangkok with the airline carrying more than 500,000 passengers to the Thai capital during the year. This was closely followed by London (479,000), Manila (446,000), and Jeddah (289,000) – which represented a 48% increase over 2010!
Passengers Carried in 2011
| ROUTE | 2011 | 2010 | VARIANCE | INCREASE |
| Bangkok
|
500,589 | 428,578 | 72,011 | 17% |
| London Heathrow | 478,821 | 413,626 | 65,195 | 16% |
| Manila
|
446,207 | 375,990 | 70,217 | 19% |
| Jeddah
|
289,439 | 195,466 | 93,973 | 48% |
| Sydney
|
269,185 | 255,731 | 13,454 | 5% |
| Frankfurt
|
237,451 | 217,591 | 19,860 | 9% |
| Paris
|
228,425 | 173,162 | 55,263 | 32% |
| Manchester
|
222,465 | 172,406 | 50,059 | 29% |
| Doha
|
215,137 | 190,389 | 24,748 | 13% |
| Dublin
|
214,733 | 187,188 | 27,545 | 15% |
