Etihad experiences busiest day ever

Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates, has announced that it experienced the busiest day in its four-year history on June 29th, when it carried 19,709 passengers.

This record-breaking day capped off a strong first six months of the year for Etihad, with some 2.8 million people using its services.

Nearly two million people flew with Etihad in the first half of 2007, meaning that the airline achieved a 41 per cent increase in passengers this year and is now on track to achieve its target of six million fliers throughout 2008.

Chief executive James Hogan said: "Etihad's performance during the first six months of 2008 has been extremely strong against a well-documented backdrop of higher fuel prices and economic slowdown in parts of Europe and the Americas.

"Despite these significant challenges faced by many airlines, Etihad is not seeing any signs of a decline in demand in any of our markets or any of our cabins. Indeed our forward bookings are currently well ahead of expectations and we anticipate another very busy summer."

The second half of 2008 is set to be boosted by an addition to the airline's network of flights from London Heathrow to Abu Dhabi, which will be increased in frequency to three daily services in October.

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