Etihad Airways said bookings for its India flights are edging higher as the south Asian nation loosens coronavirus curbs, adding to a surge in demand led by the Gulf carrier’s destinations in Europe and North America. Sales in China are also expected to jump once the latest lockdowns ease, Chief Executive Officer Tony Douglas said Tuesday in an interview at the Global Aerospace Summit in Abu Dhabi, where Etihad is based. “Everything that gets introduced gets very full very quickly,” he said of the Indian market. “When China comes back online and other parts of the Far East, I will have a go at confidently predicting, they’ll go off like a fire hydrant.” Etihad’s aircraft are flying 77% full across the network, around 2 percentage points higher than the occupancy level in May 2019, before the pandemic struck. Flights to cities including London, Paris, New York and Geneva are “basically full,” according to Douglas, who said last month that the termination of travel restrictions had lifted sales 800% over 72 hours in some markets. While India isn’t quite back to normal yet, the subcontinent in general “is pretty solid,” he said. Demand from Japan and Australia, which reopened earlier this year, still has room to catch up with Western Europe and the US. Etihad will start seasonal flights to Nice on the French Riviera on June 15 and is also operating a summer service to Malaga, southern Spain, and the holiday island of Zanzibar in the Indian Ocean. After Etihad reported a record Q1 profit of $290m before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization, Douglas said he’s equally positive about the outcome for the first six months. “We’re fully hoping that by the end of June, first-half results, there’ll be equally strong,” he said, adding that there are so far no signs of the higher cost of crude, and hence fares, denting demand.<br/>
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Etihad Airways chief Tony Douglas said Tuesday achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 poses the "biggest challenge" for commercial aviation, in a reality check for the industry. Last year, the IATA pledged carbon neutrality by 2050, which is also a target of the United Arab Emirates and several other countries. "The biggest challenge to commercial aviation is the commitment that's been made to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050," the Abu Dhabi-based airline's CEO told the Global Aerospace Summit in the UAE capital. "As a gentleman of more mature years, it's very easy for me and others to sign up to something like that, almost with the anticipation that it will be the next generation who has the responsibility to deliver upon that commitment." The aviation industry is among the fastest-growing sources of greenhouse gases, with airlines looking at hydrogen-fuelled aircraft to reduce CO2 emissions. IATA, which represents 290 airlines accounting for 83 percent of global air traffic, made its net-zero pledge in October. The UAE, one of the world's biggest oil exporters, last year also launched a "strategic initiative" targeting carbon neutrality by 2050. It has in recent years verbally backed the battle against climate change, but -- along with fellow Gulf hydrocarbon producers -- remains one of the biggest emitters of carbon dioxide per capita. "I imagine everybody in this room understands that the physics of powered flight render the achievement of that objective (net zero) extremely difficult anytime soon," Douglas said at the three-day conference.<br/>