Etihad plans to sell part of its cargo fleet after grounding them earlier in the year as part of a review of its operations, a company official said on Tuesday.
The Abu Dhabi airline grounded its five A330 Airbus freighters and is now focusing exclusively on the remaining five Boeing 777 fleet, Abdalla Shadid, managing director of the company's Cargo and Logistics Services told The National.
"Earlier this year we made the decision to exit the fleet of five freighters," he said at the Farnborough International Airshow in the UK. "These have been grounded pending a sale and we are in advanced discussion with buyers for their sale. Hope it will materialise soon and the aircraft will exit our fleet.”
The airline has sought to overhaul its business in the past two years to recover from losses of almost $2 billion (Dh7.34) in 2016. As part of the strategic review, it has backed away from a growth policy of buying minority stakes in global airlines, scrapped unprofitable routes and slashed operating costs.
Etihad's new strategy helped narrow annual losses to $1.52bn in 2017.
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Read more:
Etihad will forge more codeshares to return to profitability, group CEO says
Etihad unveils new corporate structure to drive renewed growth
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“Despite a lower (cargo) capacity relative to last year we are still able to hit and even improve in some places figures compared to last year," said Mr Shadid. "It validates our decision to finish with the old aircraft, which did not have the right economics for us. We’ve cut bad capacity and redeployed towards good sectors.”
At the core of Etihad’s restructuring is a focus on high-value products, using Abu Dhabi’s position at the crossroads of Europe and Asia, and targeting countries with large freighter demands, said Mr Shadid.
“It’s fair to say Etihad has relooked at its strategy and has a clear direction on how we are going to go forward," said Mr Shadid. "Cargo is crucial to this. Our cargo is not just a key driver for Etihad’s growth but also for Abu Dhabi and what it means creating a world-class logistics hub. It will stay and grow.”
Demand for cargo, measured in freight tonne kilometres, rose 4.2 per cent in May, compared to the same period last year, according to the International Air Transport Association. This, however, was slightly down from the 5.2 per cent growth in annual demand recorded in April.
"We expect air cargo demand to grow by a modest 4 per cent in 2018. That's an uptick from a very weak start to the year,” Alexandre de Juniac, IATA's director general and chief executive has said. He cautioned that increasing tariffs and trade wars could lead to a downturn.
Nonetheless, Mr Shadid was upbeat over industry trend and said pharmaceuticals were a particularly high-yielding commodity to move. However, he also said Etihad wanted to also make use of products that played to Abu Dhabi’s strengths.
“There is a big demand for the movement of animals, in particular horses," he said. We call it the ‘sky stables’ and in the first quarter alone we transported around 900 horses. It is also important to remember things like art and musical instruments if you consider events such as the opening of the Louvre Abu Dhabi. These are high-value products that tie in with our base.”
“We’ve always been successful at moving cars. Now we have streamlined our services and made it a seamless experienced,” he added.
Amid a difficult and often turbulent time, Mr Shadid was keen to emphasise that Etihad might have changed tact – but it was for the good.
“Going forward we have been increasing the focus on trade links and destinations,” he said.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Company Profile
Company name: Fine Diner
Started: March, 2020
Co-founders: Sami Elayan, Saed Elayan and Zaid Azzouka
Based: Dubai
Industry: Technology and food delivery
Initial investment: Dh75,000
Investor: Dtec Startupbootcamp
Future plan: Looking to raise $400,000
Total sales: Over 1,000 deliveries in three months
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
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UFC%20FIGHT%20NIGHT%3A%20SAUDI%20ARABIA%20RESULTS
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
What is graphene?
Graphene is extracted from graphite and is made up of pure carbon.
It is 200 times more resistant than steel and five times lighter than aluminum.
It conducts electricity better than any other material at room temperature.
It is thought that graphene could boost the useful life of batteries by 10 per cent.
Graphene can also detect cancer cells in the early stages of the disease.
The material was first discovered when Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov were 'playing' with graphite at the University of Manchester in 2004.
The%20specs
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Company%20Profile
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CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
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Conservative MPs who have publicly revealed sending letters of no confidence
- Steve Baker
- Peter Bone
- Ben Bradley
- Andrew Bridgen
- Maria Caulfield
- Simon Clarke
- Philip Davies
- Nadine Dorries
- James Duddridge
- Mark Francois
- Chris Green
- Adam Holloway
- Andrea Jenkyns
- Anne-Marie Morris
- Sheryll Murray
- Jacob Rees-Mogg
- Laurence Robertson
- Lee Rowley
- Henry Smith
- Martin Vickers
- John Whittingdale