Etihad Airways, headquartered in Abu Dhabi, is embarking on an ambitious expansion strategy, announcing plans to recruit nearly 2,000 professionals, including pilots, cabin crew, and mechanics throughout the current year, in anticipation of substantial growth by 2025. It is expected that the majority of these recruitments will be non-Emiratis. This expansion also involves the addition of 15 aircraft to its fleet. Antonoaldo Neves, the airline’s Chief Executive Officer, highlights the crucial phase of recruitment and training that will take place in the latter half of this year, aimed at strengthening the airline’s operational capabilities for the anticipated fleet expansion.

This move comes as Etihad Airways aims to enhance its service offerings by increasing the number of flights, frequencies, and destinations. This decision is driven by a noticeable increase in passenger traffic, with the airline achieving an 86% passenger load factor in 2023, a significant improvement from 82% the previous year.

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In a recent announcement, Etihad revealed its financial results for 2023, with revenue reaching Dh20.3 billion, a net profit of Dh525 million, and an operating result of Dh1.4 billion. This performance is attributed to a Dh4 billion increase in passenger revenue compared to the previous year.

Neves remains optimistic about the future, targeting a passenger count increase from 10 million in 2022 to over 30 million by 2030, assuming the timely acquisition of additional aircraft to meet growing demand. He forecasts a growth of 25 to 30% in 2024 alone, with ambitions of transporting 17 million passengers if the fleet expansion proceeds as planned.

In a brief mention of the airline’s focus on national talent development, Neves expressed his hope to significantly increase the number of Emirati pilots within the airline in the coming years, emphasizing the importance of representing the UAE on the global stage.