Bangkok--10 Jan--Total Quality PR Etihad Airways, The National Airline of the United Arab Emirates, which operates highly popular twice daily flights from Bangkok to Abu Dhabi and onwards to 45 destinations around the globe, has flown into 2008 in sky high style enjoying its highest ever daily passenger figures during the first days of the New Year. In a hat trick of wins on Thursday 3, Friday 4 and Saturday 5 January the Abu Dhabi-based airline carried nearly 19,000 passengers each day, with average seat factors of 88 per cent across its network to break the carrier’s record loads. The best performing routes included a number of Etihad’s recently launched destinations such as Singapore, Brisbane and Sydney which were 96 per cent full during this period. James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ chief executive, said: “There is always strong demand for flights during the festive season, but the first few days of the New Year have been phenomenal and follow a very strong end to 2007. Once again we are seeing the growing importance of Abu Dhabi as a major global hub, with Etihad connecting record numbers of customers from all corners of the world.” Flights to Europe and North America proved especially popular with the UAE’s expatriate community during the festive period. Flights to Dublin, Brussels and Manchester enjoyed seat factors above 90 per cent, whilst New York flew at 89 per cent full and Toronto 87 per cent full. Destinations in the Far East region performed strongly with Bangkok and Jakarta operating with seat factors of more than 90 per cent. Top performing destinations in the Middle East and Africa included Johannesburg, Damascus and Amman which achieved seat factors of 92 per cent, 77 per cent and 79 per cent, respectively. About Etihad Airways Etihad Airways is the national airline of the United Arab Emirates based in the UAE’s capital, Abu Dhabi. Currently Etihad offers flights to 45 destinations in the Middle East, Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and Australia. For further details: Etihad Airways Corporate Communications: Tel: 02 253 0099 or visit www.etihadairways.com For more information as well as pictures, please contact: Tom Van Blarcom / Ruthaiwan Tanwongwan Total Quality PR (Thailand) Co., Ltd Tel. 02 260 5820 Fax 02 260 5847 — 8 E-mail: [email protected]