Etihad Aviation Group CEO Tony Douglas has stated that Air Arabia Abu Dhabi will start operations next May.
Douglas said, in a press conference to announce the financial results of the group during the year 2019, that «(Air Arabia Abu Dhabi) will go to new destinations and different from (Etihad Airways) destinations, where (Etihad) began consultations with many countries to obtain official approvals on flights The new carrier, ”indicating that there is no competition between the new carrier and Etihad Airways, which owns a major portion of its shares.
He revealed that Etihad Airways is seeking profitability from 2023, and is currently making a major achievement in relation to its business transformation program that started its implementation several years ago, pointing out that the various airlines will be affected during the current year by the outbreak of the Corona virus, but it It is too early to determine the extent of vulnerability at the present time, especially since the outbreak of the virus has not ended yet, and it is not known when it will end.
Douglas noted that the number of "Etihad Airways" aircraft reached 101 by the end of 2019, consisting of 95 passenger aircraft and six cargo planes with an average age of 5.3 years, and the number of company destinations reached 76 destinations, explaining that (the group) changed a number of its aircraft models during Last year, the 787 Dreamliner was a wide-bodied aircraft that achieved significant fuel savings of up to 25% compared to other aircraft.
Douglas confirmed during the press conference, a positive improvement in the performance of the main operations of the group by 32% during the year 2019.
Its revenue amounted to $ 5.6 billion (20.6 billion dirhams), and it has increased the cumulative performance of major businesses by 55% since 2017.
2491 national employees
"The number of Emirati women and citizens in the" Etihad Airways "group reached 2491 employees, equivalent to 12.2% of the total employees of the group," said Tony Douglas. Emirati women citizens constitute more than 50% of the total national cadres in the group, as they work in all departments and departments as engineering, piloting aircraft and other administrative jobs.
He pointed to the cooperation of «Etihad Airways» and the Human Resources Department in launching programs aimed at raising the percentage of Emiratization in the aviation sector, and increasing the number of citizens to 15% of the group’s total employees by 2021.