Etihad Airways: A bright spot amidst the gloom?

For the better part of a year, a continuing theme in aviation news stories has been capacity reduction, with concomitant reductions in staff, but it looks as though Etihad Airways may be bucking that trend. Etihad, which currently employs about 7,000 people, plans to increase its work force by 5% this year.

A story about Etihad Airways on the Emirates Business 24/7 website quoted airline official Dr. Salwa Al Nuaimi, who said, "We are not firing anybody and we also didn't freeze our recruitment. We are taking care of our people and we are trying to utilise them more." Dr. Al Nuaimi is Etihad's Vice-President, Talent Acquisition, Human Resources.

Etihad is actively seeking to increase the number of Emerati nationals it employs. Currently Emiratis comprise only 3% of Etihad's work force, however the airline is providing training in technical, engineering, cadet pilot and managerial programs in order attract more local citizens into the business.

In 2007, Etihad's pilot training program made history by accepting two women as cadets. They will graduate in April of this year.

Etihad also encourages Emiratis to join the airline's award-winning cabin crew team, according to Dr. Al Nuaimi.

"Hopefully in the next two to three years we can see local cabin crew on Etihad," she said. "You see, the UAE is changing all the time. Nobody thought that we would have two female pilots."

Etihad Airways is headquartered in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, and is backed financially by the government of Abu Dhabi.

Cabin fire aboard Etihad Airways A330

News media in the Middle East are reporting that a fire erupted aboard an Etihad Airways Airbus A330-200 aircraft while it was in flight. According to the Gulf News, the incident happened on March 13, 2008 during the cruise phase of a flight between Dhaka, Bangladesh and Abu Dhabi, UAE. Cabin crew were able to extinguish the fire, and no injuries were reported amongst the 231 passengers, two pilots and 11 cabin crew on board the flight. The flight continued to Abu Dhabi, where it landed safely.

The Gulf News article about the incident quoted Iain Burns, vice-president of corporate communications for Etihad Airways, who explained that a passenger had lit a cigarette inside one of the aircraft's lavatories, and that the cigarette then ignited some toilet paper. The lavatory's smoke detector alarm activated, and the cabin crew responded. Mr. Burns said that "the flames were swiftly extinguished by our alert, calm and expertly-trained cabin crew."

In their story about the in-flight fire, the Khaleej Times noted that the passenger who started the fire "was not arrested on arrival at the Abu Dhabi International Airport but has been banned by Etihad from further travel with it." The passenger was not named.

Congratulations to the Etihad cabin crew for a job well done.

New A340-600 in ground accident at Toulouse

A brand new Airbus A340-600 aircraft was badly damaged when it ran through a blast barrier at the Airbus Saint-Martin facility at Toulouse, France. There were no fatalities, but five people were injured. The accident happened late on the afternoon of November 15, 2007.

The aircraft, which was painted in Etihad Airways livery, was undergoing pre-delivery tests on the ground at the Airbus facility at the time of the accident. According to a news release issued today by Airbus, engine-run-ups were being carried out on the A340-600, MSN 856, which was due to be delivered to Etihad in just a few days.

At the time of the accident, there were nine people on board the aircraft, including two Airbus staff, and seven employees of Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies (ADAT). Five of those nine people were injured, but as of today only the two Airbus employees and one ADAT employee remained hospitalized. None of their injuries are reported to be life-threatening.

Etihad Airways confirms that there were no Etihad staff involved in the accident.

Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies is a maintenance service provider to Etihad Airways. ADAT was formerly known as GAMCO.

Click here to view a brief news video (French language) about the accident, from the TF1 network in France.

Best wishes to those injured for a speedy and complete recovery.

UPDATE November 19, 2007: FlightGlobal.com is reporting that the A340-600 "had completed its engine test-runs and was exiting the test area at the time of the accident." The same article also mentions confirmation from Etihad that the aircraft was a write-off.

Two female pilot cadets at Etihad Airways

Meet two history-makers: Salma Mohammad Al Baloushi (left) and Aisha Hassan Al Mansouri, the first female cadet pilots at Etihad Airways. The two women currently are undergoing initial pilot training at the Horizon Flight Academy at Al Ain, UAE.

The cadet pilots must complete 930 classroom hours and 205 hours of flying in single and multi-engine aircraft, after which they will be eligible to become entry-level first officers at Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates.

An article about the two women in the Gulf News recounts how they came to be interested in flying as a career.

Salma said: "I was studying to be a nurse, but something just didn't feel right. I didn't have a real passion for what I was doing and that made studying to become better hard work. It made me stop and look at life and I decided to follow my childhood dream of becoming a pilot. I am hard-working and have found a passion in life again."

...

Aisha was inspired to become a pilot after a zero gravity experience at the Al Ain Airshow. She said: "I loved being up in the sky and knew instantly that I wanted to become a pilot. My family is so proud of what I am doing."

The two women were recruited as a part of Etihad's program to hire more Emirati nationals.

[Photo Source]

Goodbye Gulf Air - Hello Etihad?

The bad news: A number of Gulf Air cabin crew may soon lose their jobs as a result of the airline's downsizing. The good news: Many of those who are let go from Gulf Air may end up being hired by Etihad Airways.

An article in the Gulf Daily News about this development quotes a source at Etihad who said that airline's management "had given the green light for the recruitment of all crew deemed surplus to Gulf Air requirements."

"Management have said: 'Just take them'," said the source.

"They are qualified, they are good and we do not have to spend money training them."

They added that qualified staff were at a premium in the aviation industry, with many airlines forced to scour increasingly remote parts of the globe for cabin crew.

The sudden availability of staff familiar with the region and capable of doing the job was described as a rare and welcome opportunity for competing firms.

However, the source revealed Etihad would not take any more than those axed by their competitor in a bid to keep relations between the two firms cordial.

"The instructions are not to take more than Gulf Air gets rid of - they do not want to hurt Gulf Air," they said.

News reports say that Gulf Air plans to cut its 6,000 workforce by about 25%.

A quick check of the Current Vacancies page on the Etihad Airways website suggests that the airline, which is based in Abu Dhabi, is in need of cabin staff. Vacancies are listed for 1,200 cabin crew and 70 cabin manager/purser positions.

James Hogan, the chief executive of Etihad Airways, knows something about how a transition from Gulf Air to Etihad works. He moved to his present position late last year. Prior to that time, Mr. Hogan was the Gulf Air chief executive.

[Photo Source]

A380 in Etihad livery begins hot trials

Want to see how the new Airbus A380 will look when it goes into service with Etihad Airways? There's a picture on the FlightGlobal.com website that shows an A380 in Etihad livery.

The aircraft is in Abu Dhabi this week for hot weather trials.

Read the article and see the photo here: Picture: Airbus A380 begins hot trials in Abu Dhabi in partial Etihad livery - FlightGlobal.com

Technorati Tags: A380, aircraft, airliners, airlines, aviation