Gulf carrier Etihad has seen strong growth in the domestic market post pandemic and is expecting to fly more Indian passengers this year than 2023, which saw around 3-million Indians boarding its flights, a top executive at the airline has said.

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The Abu Dhabi-based national carrier, according to its chief revenue and commercial officer Arik De is also a strong "believer" in competition and is not afraid of it. "Etihad is actually back with a bang in the Indian market. Our numbers are over 10 per cent higher than they were pre-pandemic," De told PTI.

Noting that the airline came back "pretty strongly" in 2023 itself, he said, "we grew capacity by over 40 per cent and then in 2024 we plan to finish the year with around 35-40 per cent further growth." Moreover, the airline carried around three million Indians last year and this number is obviously set to grow this year as well, he stated.

Emphasising that a 10 per cent capacity growth ahead of pre-pandemic numbers is a strong growth rebound in India for the airline, he said, "passenger volumes are tracking better than that and our planes are full." It has also expanded its network in India, with the launch of fights to Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala this year.

He also said that Etihad still has capacity to grow and the Indian market might see some more growth coming in terms of the airline's commitment to India going forward. Etihad, which was an investment partner in the grounded carrier Jet Airways, currently operates 165 weekly frequencies to and from 10 Indian cities.

Etihad has a tie-up with Sharjah-based Air Arabia, which also operates its services to and from India, and along with its partner, it offers 230 weekly flights. Etihad earlier this month, announced entering into a pact with five-times IPL champion Chennai Super Kings (CSK) to become its official sponsor.

The airline has definitely seen a shift in traffic pattern post the pandemic. "One interesting trend we're seeing is the amount of Indians, especially young ones, who are willing to go to new destinations and try out new things," he said.

According to him, the airline as part of this pattern is also seeing a lot more Indians in its premium cabins (business and first class), which also speaks about the strength of India's (fast-paced) economic growth.

"Premium segment growth is tracking ahead of our overall capacity. Roughly speaking, we continue to see some 15-20 per cent growth in our premium segments. It's one of the reasons why in India, we're putting our best foot forward, in some ways," he said.

Pointing out that the airline is a strong believer in competition he said," I think it (competition) is a great thing for all of us, and the winner is the Indian consumer."