Etihad's Q3 revenue climbs 19%

The carrier said it is confident that it will achieve full-year profitability for the second year in a row after recording a best-ever average seat factor of 81.2% in the quarter and seeing its passenger numbers rise 23% year-on-year to 2.79 million.

"Our third quarter saw continued progress across the business, with all key indicators showing strong performance and we remain confident of delivering full year profitability based on current market conditions," said James Hogan, Etihad's president and CEO.

The airline said its passenger revenues were boosted by codeshare and partner revenues, which jumped 51% to $182m. The carrier's 38 partners helped to create a total network of 315 destinations, more than any other Middle Eastern carrier, and revenue from codeshare partners represented 18% of the total passenger revenue in the quarter.

A significant contribution came from airberlin, in which Etihad Airways holds a 29.21% equity stake, Eithad said. The two airlines' extensive codeshare and joint marketing agreements have delivered $51 million in revenues to Etihad year-to-date, surpassing the initial full year estimates.

The carrier said fuel remained its single largest operating cost, representing 37% of total expenditure for the quarter. "We continue to face an incredibly tough operating environment," Hogan said. "Fuel prices remain high and the global economy still carries challenges. The Eurozone remains in trouble and there is still some softness in a number of Middle Eastern markets."

"However, the wide segmentation of our business is helping to ensure our continued profitable growth. Australia and our major Asian markets are performing strongly. Our routes into China - Beijing, Shanghai and Chengdu - are showing particular potential, which will be further boosted by the strong growth of connecting markets into Africa and our codeshares," he added.

During the third quarter Etihad launched daily services to Lagos and will open new routes soon to Ahmedabad (November 1) and Addis Ababa (November 2). New routes to Washington DC, Sao Paolo and Ho Chi Minh City have already been announced for 2013.

The growth of the network will be further supported by the delivery of three new aircraft in the next three months - two Airbus A320s and one three-class Boeing 777-300ER - with a further 14 due for delivery in 2013 (six Boeing 777-300ER, five Airbus A320/A321, two Boeing 777 freighters and one Airbus A330 freighter).