São Paulo – Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways has barely begun flying to Brazil and is already considering using a larger aircraft to meet passenger demand during Pope Francis’ visit to the country, due in July. According to Etihad’s vice president for Latin America and general manager for Brazil, Juan Torres, the airline should temporarily swap the Airbus A340-500 for the Boeing 777 model so as to accommodate the passenger increase.
“We are preparing for the major events Brazil will host, such as the 2014 World Cup and the 2016 Olympics (which will be held in Rio de Janeiro). For Pope Francis’ visit to Brazil, in July, we are seeing a large increment in passenger demand, and will likely switch the aircraft we deploy to Brazil in order to cater to the demand. We may use the Boeing 777,” Torres told ANBA this Wednesday (12th) following a press conference in São Paulo.
Pope Francis will come to Brazil on July 22nd to attend the World Youth Journey in Rio de Janeiro. He will be in the country until July 29th. In addition to Rio, Francis will celebrate a mass in Aparecida, 173 kilometres off of São Paulo.
The Abu Dhabi-São Paulo route, inaugurated on June 1st, is flown by the Airbus A340-500 model, with capacity for 240 passengers. The number of passengers a Boeing 777 can carry varies depending on make and configuration, but the model in Etihad’s fleet, the 777-300 ER, carries up to 383 passengers.
Torres also said demand for Etihad tickets between Abu Dhabi and São Paulo “exceeded all expectations,” although he did not provide exact figures. He also said many of the passengers from Abu Dhabi to São Paulo are originally from Japan and China. On the other hand, most passengers in the airline’s early flights to the country are Brazilian.
Etihad’s CEO James Hogan said the company informed that it decided on flying to Brazil because the country’s economy is growing, because there are estimates of an increase in trade flow between Brazil and the United Arab Emirates, and because Abu Dhabi’s geographic location enables it to be an aerial connection hub for passengers leaving from Europe and Americas and headed toward Asia and Australia.
The pickup in activity in Brazil, however, will not occur as planned by Etihad. The airline flies between Abu Dhabi and São Paulo on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, and had plans of flying on a daily basis starting on July 1st. However, the plans have been postponed, and the daily flights should begin on October 27th.
“We need a daily flight before we can consider expanding our operations in South America. When an airline launches a new flight, it takes an average of three years for it to get return on its investment. Thus, we need to make this flight daily and then, within five to ten years, we might expand our operations in the region,” said Hogan. Brazil is Etihad’s premier South American destination, and the last in the group of emerging countries collectively known as the Brics (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa). Torres told ANBA the airline cannot fly daily to Brazil yet because there is not enough parking space in Guarulhos Airport.
Job opportunity
This Tuesday, Etihad Airways announced that on July 10th it will hold a selection process in São Paulo to hire crew members, chefs to cater to first class passengers, and food and beverage managers for executive class passengers. Crew members hired will undergo a six-week training program at the company’s facilities in Abu Dhabi. Application is available on Etihad’s website. Only shortlisted candidates will be invited to the recruitment process in July. The airline has not disclosed how many openings are available.
At present, Etihad has 93 Brazilian employees, of which 35 work outside the United Arab Emirates, eight work in the Emirates, 28 are attendants, and 23 are pilots. The company’s employees living in Abu Dhabi get benefits such as health care plans and medical assistance, among others.
Service
To apply for the selection process, go to www.careers.etihadairways.com or send an email to ccrecruitment@etihad.ae
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
