AVIATION: Etihad Airways named CAPA airline of the year

The CAPA Aviation Awards for Excellence, the world’s pre-eminent aviation strategy awards, are for strategic leadership in the aviation industry. The Airline of the Year award is given to the carrier which has had the greatest impact on the development of the global airline industry, as a strategic leader and by setting a benchmark for others to follow.

Peter Harbison, Executive Chairman of CAPA, who presented the award to Etihad Airways said: “The efficiency of the aviation industry is strangled by archaic ownership and control rules that prevent cross border mergers and rationalisation of airline offerings. More than any other factor this has effectively confined the industry to drastic financial underperformance.

“Faced with this roadblock, no single full service airline has done more than Etihad Airways to challenge the status quo with its remarkable strategic partnership model.

“Recognising that organic growth was not likely to generate the rapid global expansion it needed, Etihad Airways has relied on an extensive network of codeshares and most notably, established its own ‘equity alliance’, cemented by minority holdings in airlines around the world.

“But the strategy is more than just establishing a range of equity relationships to cement its alliance – in itself a unique development in global aviation. It has also generated shared benefits for each of its partners – such as mutual traffic feed and branding, joint purchasing and common frequent flyer programs and more – that have stimulated additional business, not only for Etihad Airways.

“In a new world of aviation partnerships, Etihad Airways is at the strategic vanguard of equity relationships, as a growing number of airlines – notably in Asia – line up to emulate the success of this truly original model.”
James Hogan, Etihad Airways President and Chief Executive Officer, said: “We are delighted to be named Airline of the Year at the 2014 CAPA Aviation Awards for Excellence. It is not only a great honour but also a powerful endorsement of the Etihad Airways business model.

“The four-pillars of our strategy – organic expansion, codeshare partnerships, minority investments in other airlines and deep commercial agreements – are more than a new rule book for global aviation they are the keys to a long and sustainable future for the airline and its partners.

“They are also, in part, the enablers of our continuing investment in innovative products and services, such as The Residence by Etihad, the world’s first three-room private cabin on a commercial aircraft, that are setting the benchmark for luxury air travel.”