Etihad Airways is confident about expanding its business despite signs of a global economic slowdown, its chief executive has said.
“The aviation industry is facing a big challenge right now [and] we are lucky to be in a region that’s growing, even though there are challenges in the global economy,” Antonoaldo Neves told delegates at the International Air Transport Association’s Ground Handling Conference in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
“We are in a region where the gross domestic product growth is at least 5 per cent, [and] when you see GDP growing 5 per cent, aviation grows by 10 per cent.”
The UAE, the Arab world’s second-largest economy, is estimated to have grown by 7.6 per cent last year, marking its highest expansion in 11 years, after GDP rose by 3.9 per cent in 2021, according to the UAE Central Bank.
In the Mena region, real GDP grew by 5.3 per cent in 2022, reflecting strong domestic demand and a rebound in oil production, according to the International Monetary Fund.
However, growth is expected to decelerate this year to 3.1 per cent before picking up slightly to 3.4 per cent next year, the fund has said.
The region’s aviation industry will witness “amazing” growth over the next decade, Mr Neves said.
Etihad Airways aims to triple its passenger numbers to 30 million and double its fleet to 150 planes by 2030.
The Abu Dhabi-based airline plans to grow by 10 per cent annually in the next seven years in terms of the number of passengers carried and available seats per kilometre.
“I don't see any reason why this airline cannot deliver 30 million passengers here … and this is only possible because of the great infrastructure that we're going to be using later this year in Abu Dhabi,” said Mr Neves.
Abu Dhabi's much-awaited new Midfield Terminal is expected to open towards the end of this year.
The Iata event comes before the start of the peak summer travel season in Europe, which has raised concerns about capacity at airports and widespread delays.
The industry has also been facing severe staffing shortages as travel demand surges following the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions last year.
“While some disruptions can be expected, there is a clear expectation that the ramping-up issues faced at some key hub airports in 2022 will have been resolved,” said Nick Careen, Iata’s senior vice president for operations, safety and security, during a media roundtable at the event.
“We know that airlines have done everything in their power to be ready, whether that's in terms of staffing, equipment [or] … working with airports around the world.”
An Iata survey released on Tuesday found that forward bookings were growing significantly in the Asia-Pacific region, the Middle East and Europe.
A large majority of travellers surveyed are planning a trip between June and August this year, the survey found.
While 85 per cent of the respondents said that disruptions during the peak travel season should not be a surprise, 80 per cent expect seamless travel with post-coronavirus challenges having been resolved, the report said.
Global passenger traffic rebounded to 15 per cent below its pre-pandemic levels in February, led by airlines in the Asia-Pacific, which recorded the fastest growth, Iata said in a report last month.
Total passenger traffic worldwide increased by 55.5 per cent on an annual basis in February, despite the uncertainty hanging over the global economy, the industry body said.
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Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Company profile
Name: Dukkantek
Started: January 2021
Founders: Sanad Yaghi, Ali Al Sayegh and Shadi Joulani
Based: UAE
Number of employees: 140
Sector: B2B Vertical SaaS(software as a service)
Investment: $5.2 million
Funding stage: Seed round
Investors: Global Founders Capital, Colle Capital Partners, Wamda Capital, Plug and Play, Comma Capital, Nowais Capital, Annex Investments and AMK Investment Office
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Match info
Arsenal 0
Manchester City 2
Sterling (14'), Bernardo Silva (64')
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The biog
Favourite colour: Brown
Favourite Movie: Resident Evil
Hobbies: Painting, Cooking, Imitating Voices
Favourite food: Pizza
Trivia: Was the voice of three characters in the Emirati animation, Shaabiyat Al Cartoon
The view from The National
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Ipaf in numbers
Established: 2008
Prize money: $50,000 (Dh183,650) for winners and $10,000 for those on the shortlist.
Winning novels: 13
Shortlisted novels: 66
Longlisted novels: 111
Total number of novels submitted: 1,780
Novels translated internationally: 66
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
Results
3pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,400m, Winner: Lancienegaboulevard, Adrie de Vries (jockey), Fawzi Nass (trainer).
3.35pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Turf) 1,600m, Winner: Al Mukhtar Star, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
4.10pm: Handicap Dh165,000 (D) 2,000m, Winner: Gundogdu, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer.
4.45pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 1,200m, Winner: Speedy Move, Sean Kirrane, Satish Seemar.
5.20pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Moqarrar, Dane O’Neill, Erwan Charpy.
5.55pm: Handicap Dh175,000 (T) 1,800m, Winner: Dolman, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
Infiniti QX80 specs
Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6
Power: 450hp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
