Judges said the award was made in recognition of Etihad Airways’ financial performance and service offering, as well as the remarkable speed of its expansion.
Etihad Airways Chief Executive Officer James Hogan said: “We are delighted to have been named airline of the year by Arabian Business. 2011 has been an exciting year for Etihad Airways. Not only have we launched seven new routes — Chengdu, Nairobi, the Seychelles, the Maldives, Bangalore, Dusseldorf and Shanghai — but we have also increased frequencies across our network and we remain on track to break even.
Hogan added: “In 2012, we will continue to grow and announce new destinations as we introduce innovations such as onboard Internet connectivity for all passengers. Etihad Airways is proud to carry the flag of the United Arab Emirates as it celebrates its 40th anniversary.”
Walid Akawi, CEO of Arabian Business publisher ITP, said: “Etihad Airways has had a truly remarkable year and is on track to break even. The scale of its expansion, the highly commended customer service and, most of all, an excellent financial performance made it a clear winner in this category.”
The announcement was made at a ceremony at the Armani hotel in Dubai.
The UAE carrier earlier said it had successfully carried more than 100 historic manuscripts from Berlin’s State Library (Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin) to the National Library of Australia (NLA) in Canberra.
The treasures, which span 1,000 years of human history, feature exquisite illuminated manuscripts, rare letters, sketches, documents and priceless musical scores, each handwritten by major figures in literature, religion, science, music, exploration and philosophy.
They include handwritten works by Erasmus, Bach, Beethoven, Curie, Dante, Darwin, Dickens, Einstein, Galileo, Kafka, Machiavelli, Luther, Mozart, Michelangelo, Napoleon, Newton and Nightingale.
The masterpieces will be part of a fascinating exhibition named Handwritten: Ten Centuries of Manuscript Treasures from Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin, when they go on display in Canberra from Nov. 26 to March 18.
