UAE's Etihad Airways posts record-breaking profit in H1

DUBAI, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), reported on Thursday a record-breaking core operating profit of 296 million U.S. dollars for the first half of 2022.

This result was achieved despite a year-on-year increase of almost 60 percent in fuel costs, said a company press release.

Etihad Airways carried a total of 4.02 million passengers from January to June this year, significantly up from 980,000 in the same period last year, with an average seat load factor of 75 percent, according to the press release.

The UAE flag carrier airline saw an increase of 21.9 percentage points in its passenger loads in the first six months, and the boost was especially strong in February when Abu Dhabi, the UAE's capital where Etihad Airways is headquartered, further relaxed coronavirus-related restrictions, according to the press release.

"Sustainability continued to be a priority area for Etihad as we entered our fuel-efficient A350-1000s into service and continued our industry-leading decarbonization efforts," Tony Douglas, chief executive officer of Etihad Airways, was quoted as saying in the press release.