Etihad Wins Operational Excellence Award from Airbus for A340-500/600 Jets

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(ABU DHABI, UAE) -- Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, received the Airbus Top Operational Excellence Award for its fleet of A340-500/600 aircraft last week after the airline outperformed other airline fleets over  two years. Criteria for the award include revenue flight hours, revenue take-offs, changeable operations, and average operational delay time from November 2007 to October 2009.

Etihad Airways Executive Vice President - Technical, Werner Rothenbaecher,  said, "This award is the result of hard work of our technical team and a very strong joint operation between Etihad Airways and our partners at Abu Dhabi Aircraft Technologies (ADAT) which continues to ensure Etihad's fleet is at the highest standard of safety, reliability, and operability."
 
John Grother, Airbus Vice President A330/A340 Family Programme said, "Etihad has forged a strong working relationship with Airbus and has shown a remarkable determination and commitment to ensure that the fleet is maintained at a level to support the airline's goals of service perfection."

In May Etihad won a series of titles at the World Travel Awards ceremony in Dubai, including selection as Leading Airline in the Middle East by 175,000 travel professionals. They also voted Etihad the best in the First Class, Economy Class, and Cabin Staff categories.

Etihad has 11 Airbus A340-500/600 jets, part of a fleet of 52 Boeing and Airbus aircraft. In 2008, Etihad placed the largest aircraft order in aviation history at the Farnborough Air Show with 100 firm aircraft orders due for delivery by 2020.   Based in Abu Dhabi, Etihad Airways offers flights to more than 60 destinations in the Middle East, Europe, North America, Africa, Australia, and Asia.

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