Consumer choice is key to Etihad growth

Dubai - Hogan highlighted the impact of rapidly growing markets such as China, India and Southeast Asia on international traffic flows and traditional international hubs.

Consumer choice and innovation are the fundamental drivers of competition in the international airline industry, said James Hogan, Etihad Airways president and chief executive officer (CEO). He was speaking at the 2015 Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) Convention.
In a discussion, Hogan said business and leisure travellers are both demanding and expect choices in network, schedules, product and services, loyalty rewards, convenience and price.
"What we bring to the market is competition. We bring fantastic choice in regard to product and services," Hogan said. "We see strong demand in premium and we're very focused on the business traveller - when you look at our lounges, when you look at the services that we provide - to ensure that the trip is as seamless as it can be."
Hogan highlighted the impact of rapidly growing markets such as China, India and Southeast Asia on international traffic flows and traditional international hubs.
He also emphasised Etihad's approach to constantly innovating to better serve customers.
"One of the greatest things about travel in this era is the consumer can find out so much about your business. In our culture, we don't have passengers, we have guests and that guest experience - whether it's first class, business class or economy - is fundamental," Hogan said.
He said Etihad competes on product in the markets in which it operates. Even as a relatively young airline, Etihad has differentiated itself in the market and attracted global interest with the best-in-class offerings available across every class of service.
Hogan discussed Etihad's business model which extends the airline's organic growth through codeshare partnerships and equity investments in key global airlines, including airberlin, Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, Aer Lingus, Alitalia, Jet Airways, Virgin Australia and Swiss-based Darwin Airline, including a network of more than 500 destinations worldwide with one booking and one fare.
Hogan said: "Our equity strategy is about how we build our network. We work in a digital age where the consumer, whether it's corporate or leisure, can go online and look to points of the world they wish to travel. Now within that, we have a partnership with these airlines where we're now strengthening our global network - top line by generating revenue and bottom line by tackling costs together."
- business@khaleejtimes.com