Etihad boss in tour de force

ETIHAD boss Australian James Hogan was in fine form when he spoke to the London-based Aviation Club of Great Britain last week.  He noted that the new terminal had opened at Abu Dhabi expanding capacity to 12m, emphasising that aviation development was a key element of Plan 2030, a long-term urban framework scheme.  In the next five years the Gulf state is investing USD200bn in various infrastructure projects with a target of 2.7m hotel guests a year by 2012.  Attractions include Formula 1, the FIFA World Club Championship, European Tour golf, the  Louvre Abu Dhabi and the Guggenheim Abu Dhabi.  Etihad and its success was clearly his priority and he reminded an attentive audience that the airline recently won the 2009 Skytrax awards for best business class airline worldwide.  As he put it “not bad for a carrier that did not exist six years ago.”  An ebullient Mr Hogan said that in spite of very difficult times Etihad continued to grow and has targeted revenues of USD3bn in 2009.  A partnership with Qantas focused on Abu Dhabi as a hub from Europe to Australia and New Zealand.  The airline offers twice daily flights out of Heathrow and a seven-day week operation from both Dublin and Manchester. www.etihad.com

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