| Kippreport.com

Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Air sees traffic up 16 pct in 2010

November 5, 2010 10:28 by Reuters

Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways expects its passenger traffic to grow to 7.3 million in 2010, up about 16 percent from the previous year, the company said on Thursday.

Average load factor is expected to rise to 77 percent in 2010 from 74 percent last year, the government-owned airline said in a statement on the eve of its seventh anniversary.

Cargo tonnage is seen increasing 20 percent.

Etihad has flown over 26 million passengers during its seven years and its fleet has grown to 57 aircraft in 2010, it said.

Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, is investing billions of dollars on tourism, infrastructure, industry and real estate to diversify its economy away from oil.

(Reporting by Stanley Carvalho; editing by Firouz Sedarat)

Tags: Abu Dhabi's Etihad Air, Etihad Air traffic 2010, Etihad Average load factor, Etihad fleet 2010, passenger traffic 2010