Etihad Airways expects the list of travel corridors between countries to grow this summer as the pace of Covid-19 vaccinations accelerates, herd immunity strengthens and rapid testing technology improves, its chief executive said.
While the current lockdowns imposed by governments are a concern for the industry, a higher vaccine curve and faster PCR testing could ease travel restrictions and unlock pent-up travel demand, Tony Douglas, chief executive of Etihad Aviation Group, told The National.
As the vaccination curve rises into the 60th or 70th percentiles in Europe, Asia, Israel and the UAE, more governments will lift travel restrictions if passengers have the appropriate vaccine or testing certificates on arrival and departure, he said.
"As we get into the summer months, unless vaccine programmes slow down or there is a flaw in the strategy, things will start to tip back into the right direction in a whole bunch of countries," Mr Douglas said.
"My expectation is that we'll start to see the list of countries that are able to have travel corridors will get longer and longer, which will be heavily impacted by the way in which vaccines give that assurance."
We will come out of this fine.
New virus variants are prompting governments to tighten travel restrictions, which is hurting the outlook for airlines, according to the International Air Transport Association (Iata).
Mr Douglas said he does not expect air travel to return to pre-crisis levels until 2023.
"We're expecting 2021 to be a very difficult year, we're expecting 2022 to be a transition year and we're expecting 2023 sees us slowly getting back to pre-Covid passenger numbers," he said. "We've budgeted for 2021 to be a continuation of many of the challenges we faced last year."
Etihad's core operating loss in 2020 more than doubled to $1.7 billion from the previous year, as passenger traffic fell 76 per cent due to the pandemic, which also pushed global peers such as Qantas and British Airways-parent IAG into the red.
Full-year passenger revenue dropped 74 per cent to $1.2bn as the airline carried 4.2 million people, down from 17.4 million in 2019, the carrier said on Thursday. That was due to lower demand, fewer scheduled flights and the UAE's suspension of passenger services in late March to curb the spread of the virus, Etihad said.
Etihad's full-year loss "could have easily doubled" had it not been for the airline's ongoing five-year turnaround plan, which it accelerated due to the pandemic, Mr Douglas said.
"Had we not been engaged in the transformation programme and had we not accelerated it as a result of Covid, it would have been an awful lot more," he said. "We put the metal down on the floor on the transformation agenda and it was difficult because we had to make further network and fleet decisions."
Etihad aims to narrow its losses in 2021 compared to 2020, Mr Douglas said, adding the caveat of the uncertainty arising from the pandemic.
In 2021, the airline plans to recover revenue while maintaining an "obsessive level" of attention to costs, as vaccinations, PCR testing and health certificates unlock pent-up travel demand later this year, Mr Douglas said.
Last year, Etihad reduced operating costs by 39 per cent year-on-year to $3.3bn, due to a combination of reduced capacity and cost containment measures.
Etihad plans to operate as a mid-sized carrier, building its operations around smaller twin-engine aircraft, and focusing on the Boeing 787 Dreamliner as the "backbone" of its fleet. At the end of 2020, the airline operated to 50 passenger and seven cargo destinations from Abu Dhabi, representing approximately 35 per cent of its pre-Covid capacity.
Besides its 40 Dreamliners, Etihad will deploy its 12 Airbus A350s but not in 2021 or 2022, the chief executive said.
"It's one of those where you segment how you fight your way through 2021-2022 and we'd do that with the 787s predominantly," he said.
Of its 10 Airbus A380 superjumbos, Mr Douglas said: "We have now taken the strategic decision to park the A380s, I'm sure it's very likely that we won't see them operating with Etihad again."
Etihad has Boeing 777-9s on order, with the US manufacturer delaying the plane's debut to 2023. Mr Douglas said the date for Etihad deliveries is a question for Boeing.
"I'm not sure they know and it will probably be some time until they can answer it intelligently because of the Covid impact," he said.
Asked if Etihad is considering converting the 777X order for Dreamliners, he said: "When you're in a street fight with Covid, it's almost irrelevant, because the deliveries are way out in the future anyway. The trick to this one is to focus on 2021-2022 ... that journey is a 787 Dreamliner journey."
The aviation industry is among the worst-hit sectors during the Covid-19 crisis, forcing airlines to cut thousands of jobs, ground aircraft and seek government aid.
The airline’s total workforce shrank 33 per cent to a total of 13,587 employees by the end of 2020, compared to 20,369 in 2019.
Another wave of job cuts is in progress for 2021, but it will be "smaller significantly" than last year, he said, without providing an exact number.
The state-owned carrier plans to refinance existing debt that has been on its balance sheet since 2014 and maturing this year, Mr Douglas said. It will replace it with long-term debt and is open to a variety of financing instruments.
Asked if Etihad will seek government aid to bolster its finances during the Covid crisis, as other airlines have done, Mr Douglas said the carrier will continue to accelerate its transformation plan.
Airlines who got the biggest chunks of government bailouts such as Lufthansa, Cathay Pacific, Singapore Airlines and US carriers are the ones seeing recovery take longer because they've been given the funds to bolster their balance sheets, he said.
"The jury will always be out in my mind about that because on one hand you preserve a national asset but on the other hand, back to what transformation is all about, you don't make them as agile and resourceful," Mr Douglas said.
There is a silver lining for airlines who use the crisis as an accelerator to become more agile and who stay focused on sustainable flying, he said.
A focus on sustainability will separate long-term winners from those who "fall by the wayside", Mr Douglas said.
In 2020 alone, more than 40 commercial carriers stopped or suspended operations globally, according to Cirium.
Air cargo is another bright spot, with Etihad earning $1.2bn in revenue, a 66 per cent increase from 2019, driven by demand for medical supplies.
"There will be an end to this. 2021 will be the year of how this not only turns a corner but resets. Vaccine and testing will be key ingredients to this," he said. "Governments in a controlled way will connect travel flows on a bilateral basis from A to B and the winners will be the ones who develop ways to handle this from a wellness point of view."
More than 75 per cent of the airline's UAE-based workforce has been vaccinated, and Etihad is the first airline globally to have 100 per cent of its flight crew inoculated.
The push towards digital health passports will very quickly mature this year and more people will "adapt and adopt to the new norm" of vaccines and PCR testing, he said. "We will come out of this fine."
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GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
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%3Cp%3EFounder%3A%20Hani%20Abu%20Ghazaleh%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20with%20an%20office%20in%20Montreal%3Cbr%3EFounded%3A%202018%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Virtual%20Reality%3Cbr%3EInvestment%20raised%3A%20%241.2%20million%2C%20and%20nearing%20close%20of%20%245%20million%20new%20funding%20round%3Cbr%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%2012%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Company profile
Name: Back to Games and Boardgame Space
Started: Back to Games (2015); Boardgame Space (Mark Azzam became co-founder in 2017)
Founder: Back to Games (Mr Azzam); Boardgame Space (Mr Azzam and Feras Al Bastaki)
Based: Dubai and Abu Dhabi
Industry: Back to Games (retail); Boardgame Space (wholesale and distribution)
Funding: Back to Games: self-funded by Mr Azzam with Dh1.3 million; Mr Azzam invested Dh250,000 in Boardgame Space
Growth: Back to Games: from 300 products in 2015 to 7,000 in 2019; Boardgame Space: from 34 games in 2017 to 3,500 in 2019
A little about CVRL
Founded in 1985 by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, the Central Veterinary Research Laboratory (CVRL) is a government diagnostic centre that provides testing and research facilities to the UAE and neighbouring countries.
One of its main goals is to provide permanent treatment solutions for veterinary related diseases.
The taxidermy centre was established 12 years ago and is headed by Dr Ulrich Wernery.
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
List of UAE medal winners
Gold
Faisal Al Ketbi (Open weight and 94kg)
Talib Al Kirbi (69kg)
Omar Al Fadhli (56kg)
Silver
Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Khalfan Belhol (85kg)
Zayed Al Mansoori (62kg)
Mouza Al Shamsi (49kg women)
Bronze
Yahia Mansour Al Hammadi (Open and 94kg)
Saood Al Hammadi (77kg)
Said Al Mazroui (62kg)
Obaid Al Nuaimi (56kg)
Bashayer Al Matrooshi (62kg women)
Reem Abdulkareem (45kg women)
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
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The%20Iron%20Claw
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Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
THE BIO
Favourite book: ‘Purpose Driven Life’ by Rick Warren
Favourite travel destination: Switzerland
Hobbies: Travelling and following motivational speeches and speakers
Favourite place in UAE: Dubai Museum
The specs: 2018 Chevrolet Trailblazer
Price, base / as tested Dh99,000 / Dh132,000
Engine 3.6L V6
Transmission: Six-speed automatic
Power 275hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque 350Nm @ 3,700rpm
Fuel economy combined 12.2L / 100km
Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
%3Cp%3ECory%20Sandhagen%20v%20Umar%20Nurmagomedov%0D%3Cbr%3ENick%20Diaz%20v%20Vicente%20Luque%0D%3Cbr%3EMichael%20Chiesa%20v%20Tony%20Ferguson%0D%3Cbr%3EDeiveson%20Figueiredo%20v%20Marlon%20Vera%0D%3Cbr%3EMackenzie%20Dern%20v%20Loopy%20Godinez%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETickets%20for%20the%20August%203%20Fight%20Night%2C%20held%20in%20partnership%20with%20the%20Department%20of%20Culture%20and%20Tourism%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20went%20on%20sale%20earlier%20this%20month%2C%20through%20www.etihadarena.ae%20and%20www.ticketmaster.ae.%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
The%20specs
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
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EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
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