Etihad Airways’ chief executive James Hogan told business leaders the USA is a largely untapped market for the airline and said the new Chicago service is set to become an important driver to future growth.
Hogan was addressing the AmCham Abu Dhabi Global Leaders Luncheon, held at the Beach Rotana hotel in Abu Dhabi.
During his speech, Hogan discussed the growing relationship between Abu Dhabi and Chicago and explained how Etihad’s new service will bring significant economic benefits to America’s third largest city.
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.”
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.
John L Habib, president of AmCham Abu Dhabi, said: “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 our members.”