Etihad Airways CEO Antonoaldo Neves says India is a high growth market for them
Etihad is looking at expanding its capacity in India by increasing the frequencies and destinations. Further it expects 20 percent growth from India in the next one year. Although, it is not looking at any inorganic growth opportunities via the merger and acquisition route at this juncture.
On the 20th anniversary of Etihad operations in India, CNBC-TV18 interacted with Antonoaldo Neves, CEO of Etihad Airways. This is his first visit to India after taking over as CEO. Neves says India is a crucial market for the airline contributing to its growth. “Etihad is strongly committed to India” says Neves.
Etihad connects 10 Indian cities and has 185 weekly flights to India while airline now looks to tap into the economic and tourism potential of the India UAE FTA. Further, it is looking at deploying the remaining 10,000 weekly seat capacity in the next one year.
Etihad is looking at expanding its capacity in India by increasing the frequencies and destinations. Further it expects 20 percent growth from India in the next one year. Although, it is not looking at any inorganic growth opportunities via the merger and acquisition route at this juncture.
About 10 million passengers have traveled via Etihad in 2022 and it expects to clock 30 percent growth in 2023 owing to growth in China, Europe, US, South East Asia and India.
Earlier in March, Etihad said it plans to restart direct flights between Kolkata and Abu Dhabi March 26th onwards. With the restart of these services to Kolkata, Etihad will now fly to 14 destinations across the region — India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Maldives, the airline said in a statement.
(Published as first appeared on CNBC TV18)
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