Time to economise
Etihad Airways launched its all-economy service on six routes at the end of 2010. Sarah Campbell caught up with Peter Baumgartner, the carrier’s COO to fi nd out more.
E
tihad Airways reconfi gured two Airbus A320s in October 2010, taking out business and fi rst-class seats and replacing them with an additional 42 economy-class seats on routes to the Levant, North Africa and the Indian subcontinent. The reconfi gured aircraft now offer 162 economy seats and are operating to Alexandria, Calicut, Colombo, Damascus, Doha and Thiruvananthapuram. While the confi guration on these aircraft is different from most of Etihad’s planes, the product, including in-fl ight entertainment and catering, remains consistent with the rest of the narrowbody fl eet.
“The all-economy aircraft will operate to short-haul Etihad destinations – initially Alexandria, Calicut, Colombo, Damascus, Doha and Thiruvananthapuram. As there are only two Airbus A320 aircraft currently confi gured with the all-economy product, this fl eet will be utilised based on traffi c and passenger demand,” explains Peter Baumgartner, chief commercial offi cer of Etihad. It is also important to note that not every service to the six short-haul destinations are all-economy fl ights, as Etihad offers a mix of product, as required, on certain routes to cater to business and fi rst-class passengers.
All-economy expansion ahead With aviation costs across the world set to escalate during 2011, Etihad is
34
exploring plans to expand its all economy offering to more points on its network.
“Plans are in place to expand the all-economy fl eet to 10 A320 aircraft, which will enable us to launch new all-economy services in the future. Operations using the all- economy service will be determined by demand for premium and economy travel within the network,” says Baumgartner.
The airline currently has 15 A320 aircraft in its fl eet, with 35 additional aircraft on order from Airbus.
Sounds familiar?
The move to all-economy echoes previous attempts by regional carrier Gulf Air to maximise profi ts with an economy-focused product. Gulf Air founded its Gulf Traveller service on June 1, 2003, as part of its three-year restructuring and turnaround programme led by James Hogan, then CEO. The aim was to economise on routes with little demand for premium services. Gulf Traveller’s inaugural fl ight took off on June 15, 2003, between Abu Dhabi and Jeddah, however the airline eventually withdrew operations to Abu Dhabi in 2006 and Gulf Traveller subsequently ceased operations. James Hogan took the reigns at Etihad not long after Gulf Air’s withdrawal from Abu Dhabi, joining the Abu Dhabi carrier as CEO in October 2006.
www.routes-news.com
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56