Etihad Bookings Dip After Paris Attacks

Etihad Airways had a dip in bookings for travel from Europe to the Middle East after the November 13 Paris attacks and said it has stepped up vigilance for potential security threats.

The Abu Dhabi-based airline has seen reservations rebound in the past week ahead of the peak travel period around the Christmas and New Year holidays, Hogan said.

Partners Alitalia and Air Seychelles saw dips of bookings for travel to or from France as well, according to Hogan.

The comments reflect how the attacks that killed 130 and a subsequent travel warning by the United States shook demand in the airline business, at least briefly. Air France-KLM said last month that customers' travel cancellations had exceeded bookings.

Etihad's passenger traffic inbound to Europe from India and Australasia has stayed strong, Hogan said.

Hogan was in New York this week to open a new airport lounge for Etihad at John F. Kennedy Airport, where the company recently started flying the Airbus A380.

He said Etihad is not interested in a stretched upgrade to the A380, which Emirates has asked Airbus to build. Etihad has a total of 10 A380s in its fleet and on order.

"We think the new technology (with) two engines is operationally and economically more advantageous to us in the long term," Hogan said, referring to Airbus's twin-engine A350-1000 and the next generation Boeing 777X.

Last year, there were zero orders placed by commercial airlines for new four-engine 747 aircraft from Boeing or Airbus, reflecting a fundamental shift in the airline industry toward smaller, twin-engine planes. Smaller planes cost less to fly than the stately, four-engine jumbos, which can carry up to 525 passengers.

Separately, Hogan said Etihad had not considered whether it should increase its stakes in partners such as Air Berlin, of which it owns 29 percent, if the European Union relaxes restrictions on foreign ownership.

"We’re happy with the investment structure as we see it," he said.