US is the key to Etihad growth says Hogan

Etihad Airways' chief executive James Hogan said today that the United States of America remains a largely untapped market for Etihad Airways and spoke of how the airline's new Chicago service is set to become an important driver to the airline's future growth.

Hogan was addressing an audience of senior business executives at the AmCham Abu Dhabi Global Leaders Luncheon, held at the Beach Rotana hotel in Abu Dhabi. He said: “It’s the first direct air route between Chicago and the Arabian Gulf. Abu Dhabi sits at the heart of the Arab world but did you also know that within the state of Illinois there is an Arab-American population of nearly a quarter of a million people, with immigrants from Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Iraq and Syria, as well, of course, as from the UAE itself? That in itself marks a great potential customer base.

“But we do not plan to use this service just to bring travellers from Chicago and the American mid-west to Abu Dhabi and the Middle East. Using our hub at Abu Dhabi airport, we will bring thousands of passengers from the Middle East, the Indian sub-continent and Asia to Chicago, benefiting the local economy and helping to create good jobs.”

John L. Habib, president of AmCham Abu Dhabi, said: “Chicago is known as ‘The Windy City’ and now that famous wind is bringing one of the world’s fastest growing and progressive airlines directly into O’Hare airport. Etihad is to be congratulated for having the foresight to choose greater Chicago as its hub for expanding westward across the US and for its code-share with American Airlines. The Abu Dhabi-Chicago route will certainly become a favourite of the 400-plus members of AmCham Abu Dhabi. Today we are celebrating a new era of exciting business and tourism opportunities between two thriving regions.”

Hogan also explained how the airline’s presence within the American market has recently been strengthened, following a major code-share agreement with American Airlines. The arrangement extends the two airlines’ global networks by providing easy access between Abu Dhabi and key cities in the US including Washington DC, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Houston.

Thee UAE is America’s largest export market in the Arab world, generating more than US $11 billion in exports last year. There are more than 750 US companies operating in the UAE and significant recent investments made by UAE-based interests in US companies, including Citibank, AMD, General Electric and MGM.

Hogan paid tribute to the increasing contribution being made by US institutions to the delivery of high quality educational and health care services within the UAE. He explained how such partnerships will bring Etihad real and tangible benefits: “As the UAE and US continue to depend on each other for long-term success, we expect the rate of bilateral business and partnerships to continue to expand. Thus, creating more demand for travel between the two nations.”

James Hogan, Etihad Airways chief executive (right), and John L. Habib, president of AmCham Abu Dhabi at the AmCham Abu Dhabi Global Leaders Luncheon, held at the Beach Rotana hotel in Abu Dhabi on Monday (October 5).