Lucrative market: 18.5% of total passenger traffic for Etihad Airways comes from Pakistan. PHOTO: AFP
The aviation industry of Pakistan has been a bumpy ride in present times mainly because of losses suffered by the national flag carrier and security concerns which have forced international airlines to drastically curtail their operations. Despite such a scenario, an international airline – Etihad Airways – is doing comparatively well and is trying to get maximum advantage from the Pakistan market.
Etihad Airways, the Abu Dhabi-based airline that started operations globally in 2003 and entered Pakistan’s market a year later, considers the South Asian country as an integral part of its network. It flies to four key destinations in Pakistan – Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar – with 27 flights every week.
The air carrier sees a lot of potential for air travel to and from Pakistan. Important international segments are the Middle East, North America and Europe, particularly the UK where Pakistanis travel frequently. Etihad Airways believes that Pakistani travellers are discerning and demanding and that is why the airline ensures that superior services are provided at all levels.
“In the second year of our business, we started operating in Pakistan as we believe that it is a potential market for the aviation industry. This shows our commitment, not only by our company, but also by our government,” says Adam Phillips, Vice President, Asia-Pacific North and Indian Subcontinent, Etihad Airways, in an interview with The Express Tribune.
For Phillips, the challenges faced by Etihad Airways in Pakistan are almost the same that it grapples with globally. In an effort to address the challenges, the airline is streamlining its operations by improving product offerings according to customer needs.
Phillips avoided comments on the problems besetting airlines in Pakistan. He also did not talk about competition with local airlines and only insisted that they have different business models for this part of the world and they apply them accordingly.
“How I feel about local carriers is difficult to comment, we only look at where we currently stand, we are quite happy with our performance,” Phillips says.
Passenger traffic from Pakistan for the airline is around 18.5% of the total passengers estimated at 2.8 million that travelled with the carrier in the first quarter of 2013.
Because of the importance of Pakistan’s market, Etihad Airways added four flights to its Lahore route to provide travellers with more options to fly at different times.
Though Phillips sees room for growth in Pakistan, the company reviews its strategy keeping in view ground realities. It seems that the airline at present is not looking to expand operations further.
“What we are doing at present, we cannot do in the future,” Phillips says, responding to a question about expansion plans in Pakistan.
In the cargo segment, the airline is not offering much in Pakistan, but has plans to make inroads as it is currently examining the sector quite closely to look for opportunities.
The airfare Etihad Airways charges is a little bit costly compared to Pakistani airlines. According to market people, the fare is up to 15% higher, but is cheaper by about 6% when compared with Emirates, another UAE airline. Etihad Airways specifically targets customers, who normally fly beyond Abu Dhabi.
Etihad Airways flies to 79 destinations globally with a fleet of 72 aircraft. It has more than 10,500 employees representing more than 125 nationalities.
The company generated total revenues of $1.136 billion for the first quarter of 2013. In 2012, it posted a profit of $42 million with revenues of $4.8 billion.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 14th, 2013.
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Living in Pakistan we should definately prefer PIA over other airlines, but to be honest service of PIA is pathetic. i've flown with PIA many times and every time there was a huge delay in flights. i am a frequent flyer national and internationally and i have to be on time on my destinations. with PIA i have always suffered, both on national and international flights. When compared to Etihad and Emirates, both these airlines are awesome. though expensive but they deliver what they commit. For me time is money, so definately prefer etihad and emirates over PIA. Loved flying with Etihad.
@Maria: I do not know about PIA service, since I have never flown, so I will not comment on its service. But if you say it is better than Emirates, Etihad, please explain why it is not achieving the global dominance you say it deserves given the quality of offering? Overstaffing does not adversely concern customers only company profits, so why do the others not fly PIA? Secondly, you referred to South Asian market. Do you think any Indian would fly PIA even if it was better than Jet, indigo etc. which are Indian carriers as also a whole range of international options also available?
Hope is not a strategy.
@black: thats strange coz i had my flight to london during the same time when they implemented the new system but everything seemed fine at the karachi airport. infact everything went pretty smoothly at the khi airport. was impressed :). for international flights, Etihad and emirates are best.
PIA has the potential achieve a lot but it is the mismanagement that prevents its growth, Pilots don't have the qualification to run corporations. Etihad and Emirates are good airlines as they are runned by professionals but even at this stage I would prefer PIA over them.
Great airline. I have a chance to flown for UK. Enjoyed the flying as have brand new air craft with delicious food and entertainment system was another good reason to fly with etihad. I highly recomend etihad airways.
Sponsored story doesnt sell well these days ET!
A great airline; flew it from Pakistan to Washington day before yesterday.
I had such a bad experience with Etihad recently as their new check-in system was being rolled out globally. My flight was literally 'canceled' on March-16 at Lahore airport just because Etihad staff wasn't trained to use the new system and were not able to use it; so they made the whole flight stand in check-in lines for hours and we were eventually told that the flight is canceled and the passengers were not even given immediate hotel accommodation - That's like the height of negligence and abuse of 'strong position'.
So, yea at least I'm never travelling with Etihad ever again.
I have travelled on PIA, Etihad, Emirates and other airlines but I would have to say PIA remains the best in terms of service, food and convenience. Once the bloated work force issues are sorted out, PIA can not only dominate the Middle Eastern and South Asian markets, but they have the potential to win over a large segment of the global market the way Turkish Airlines has done.