Etihad Crystal Cargo also enjoyed similar spectacular growth carrying a record 310, 000 tons, 46,875 tons or 18 percent more than in 2010.

“This result, achieved while much of the world was still very much in the economic doldrums and oil prices remained high, is testament to our emergence as a formidable force in the international aviation arena,” said Etihad Airways President and Chief Executive Officer James Hogan.

“It also reflects our commitment to sensible, strategic expansion which is why we launched eight new routes last year,” he said.

These were to Bangalore, the Maldives, the Seychelles, Chengdu, Dusseldorf, Tripoli, Shanghai and Nairobi.

Etihad Airways’ busiest route was Bangkok with the airline carrying more than 500,000 passengers to the Thai capital during the year.

This was closely followed by London (479,000), Manila (446,000), and Jeddah (289,000), which represented a staggering 48 percent increase over 2010.

Then came Sydney, Frankfurt, Paris, Manchester, Doha and Dublin to complete the list of the 10 most popular routes.

“In cargo, the strongest growth was seen out of Europe as exports from markets such as Germany and Italy held firm during a challenging back half of the year,” Hogan said.

“We launched freighter services into Amsterdam, Cairo, Djibouti, Kabul and Kandahar during the year, increased operations to our key markets of China and India while growing Johannesburg by up to three freighters a week.”

A priority product "Fast-Track" was launched offering shorter transit time and expedited delivery as well as a guaranteed service delivery.

Expanded trucking schedules within the UAE and new service to points in the GCC region provided more solutions for customers.

Etihad Crystal Cargo also introduced its first Boeing 777F during the year with two more now scheduled for delivery in 2013.