Etihad Airways has unveiled its ambitious plans for the future, targeting 400 per cent growth in passenger numbers over the next 12 years.
Speaking to US media in New York, Etihad chief executive James Hogan revealed that the airline plans to carry 25 million travellers by 2020 and is aiming to double the number of cities in its network from 50 to 100 over the same period.
Earlier this year, the Abu Dhabi-based carrier ordered more than 100 Airbus and Boeing aircraft to be added to its fleet, a move that Mr Hogan said highlighted its business intentions.
"Etihad is already a substantial business and we signalled our intentions for the future by making recently one of the largest ever commercial aircraft orders," he commented.
"Our projections to 2020 reflect that order and the scale of our ambitions, closely aligned to the growth of Abu Dhabi as an economic and tourism powerhouse," he added.
The carrier revealed it has already transported over 4m people in the first nine months of the year, 1.6m of which used its services between June and August – making it the company’s busiest summer period in its short history.
As a result, the airline is on target to achieve its goal of transporting some 6m passengers in 2008.
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