The sudden outbreak of covid-19 in 2020 has brought an unprecedented blow to the global aviation industry, and Etihad, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has actively transformed in the face of difficulties and planned development around the three themes of health and safety, epidemic prevention and control, and green development.
"2020 has been an extraordinary year for all airlines." Etihad Airways Group Chief Executive Tony Douglas told reporters that in the face of a series of unpredictable challenges, the ongoing transformation plan made encouraging progress in early 2020. That's why Etihad has been able to respond flexibly when covid-19 hits, fully mobilizing all available resources to create a healthy and green new aviation through a series of important initiatives.
Create a healthy and hygienic flight environment
To ensure the health and safety of passengers travelling during the pandemic, Etihad Airways has launched the Etihad Wellness Programme, which covers all stages of the flight journey, including rigorous cleaning and meticulous inspections. In addition, Etihad is pioneering the introduction of professionally trained Health ambassadors in the industry to provide travellers with vital travel health information and care services to create a peace-of-mind flying experience.
According to Terry Daly, Etihad Airways' Executive Director of Customer Experience, Branding and Marketing, service and care for travellers is one of Etihad's core values, and Health ambassadors provide a high-quality travel experience by providing a high-quality travel experience through meticulous service that is seamless and seamless. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, in order to strengthen the protection of passengers under the Health and Wellness Programme, every passenger on Etihad Airways has received COVID-19 Global Health Insurance, which not only provides additional health and safety for passengers to take flights, but also increases passenger confidence in choosing air travel during the epidemic.
Etihad Airways has been awarded Diamond certification in the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX) Health and Safety Awards for its outstanding performance in cleanliness and hygiene.
Actively participate in the global anti-epidemic action
As the uae's national airline, Etihad Airways has been on the front lines of the fight against the epidemic. Recently, the Abu Dhabi government formed the Hope Consortium to leverage Abu Dhabi's global logistics hub to create a logistics platform for COVID-19 vaccines.
Martin Drew, Etihad Airways' senior vice president of global sales and cargo, said that from January to November 2020, Etihad Airways operated a total of 706 cargo flights from Beijing and Shanghai, transporting around 40,000 tonnes of cargo, 80% of which were medical supplies to support the global fight against COVID-19. On the passenger side, Etihad Airways resumed its Shanghai passenger route in July 2020. In December of the same year, Etihad launched a direct passenger route from Beijing to Abu Dhabi, allowing passengers departing from Beijing and Shanghai to reach 20 destinations via Abu Dhabi. With the resumption of Etihad's second weekly passenger route to China, Etihad has become the only airline in the MENA region to operate direct passenger flights from Shanghai and Beijing, facilitating international exchanges during the pandemic.
Accelerate transformation for sustainable development
According to Etihad Airways CEO Tony Douglas, at the end of 2020, Etihad announced an organizational restructuring to face the challenges of the global aviation downturn and reposition the business. Etihad adopted a new organizational structure that is leaner, flatter and more flexible to drive the company's continued transformation and organic growth as the global aviation industry recovers. Through the implementation of the new corporate structure, Etihad is committed to enhancing the safe and hygienic flight experience and attentive service, continuing to advance the industry-leading Etihad Health programme, and prioritizing innovation and sustainability for the future of the company.
Etihad works with partners around the world to continue to develop new ways to mitigate the environmental impact of the aviation industry, including the Green Dreamliner Programme, which tests environmentally friendly technologies on the Etihad Dreamliner fleet. In addition, Etihad has also conducted eco-flights, adopting sustainable initiatives to reduce carbon emissions during flights. For example, the optimization of flight routes, the reduction of plastic use, and the trial of sustainable products. In August 2020, Etihad launched a series of new technology tests around the newly delivered 787 aircraft, including improving airspace use efficiency, reducing fuel use, reducing community noise and CARBON dioxide emissions. In January 2020, Etihad announced its goal of achieving zero carbon emissions by 2050, witnessed by the European Commission, and pledged to halve carbon emissions in 2019 by 2035.
Tony Douglas stressed that China has always been one of the most important strategic markets for Etihad Airways and the UAE. The epidemic has caused great challenges to the aviation industry, and Etihad will continue to uphold the core concepts of health, safety and green development, strengthen communication and collaboration with Strategic Partners in China and around the world, accelerate transformation, and respond to the challenges of the epidemic to the aviation industry. (Economic Daily-China Economic Network in Abu Dhabi reporter Wang Junpeng)
Source: Economic Daily - China Economic Network