Etihad Airways yesterday ruled out introducing a separate low-cost airline for the time being, saying it had the flexibility to offer all economy, single-class flight services instead.Addressing the media to introduce its latest product, Hala Abu Dhabi, the airline’s destination management, Etihad Airways’ CEO James Hogan said the airline already covers the segment that a low-cost carrier does.

He added that the airline had the capacity to introduce single-class flights if the need arose.I think we are capable  we already have 15 A320 aircraft. That gives us the frequency and the depth that we need to cater to passengers in the GCC, the Middle East and India. We also use them  for flight to Minsk and Moscow. Predominantly, we are a two class airline, and our customers expect a two class vision. We also have to take into account the capacity of Abu Dhabi airport, said Hogan.

He added So, at this stage, we don’t see the need to go for one class. We monitor the market very carefully and feel the two-class proposition meets the requirements of the market. But we do have the flexibility, if we need to change.Hogan also said the airline was well on track to break even in 2011 without any revisions or changes, and all aircraft deliveries announced earlier, with the exception of some deferred orders, would taken place by 2020, as per schedule. He said: If we had had the yields in 2008 and 2009, we would have broken even this year. So what that meant was that our costs for training were in the right direction,as were utilising our aircraft effectively and generating the revenue we needed. But obviously the global financial crisis hit us and pushed back our yields to break even in 2011.

When asked about the 2010 first quarter financial results, Hogan refused to elaborate and said: We have made up our plans for the first quarter.On the recent crisis of the Icelandic volcanic ashes affecting the entire airline industry’s operations in Europe, Hogan said Etihad handled the crisis extremely well. We acted immediately to bring our passengers to Abu Dhabi and accommodate them primarily on Yas Island and 16 other hotels. Our staff did a very good job and we are proud of the way they handled the crisis. The reaction from the entire staff, including the crew, was fantastic,” he said.