Etihad Airways sees strong demand, higher passenger capacity despite Iran war, CEO says

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Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways said on Monday that its passenger-carrying capacity ​is running above year-earlier levels as ‌Gulf carriers rebound from disruption caused by the Iran war, with strong demand expected heading ​into the winter travel season, its ​chief executive told Reuters.“We are back ⁠on track,” CEO Antonoaldo Neves said in ​an interview, noting that current Available Seat ​Kilometres – the industry’s standard measure of passenger-carrying capacity – was currently 15 to 17% higher than a ​year ago.“Flights are full, full, full,” ​he said, adding that load factor, which measures ‌how ⁠well an airline is filling available seats, was at 92% in August while the airline is targeting an 87% plus ​load factor ​for the ⁠remainder of the year.The Iran war affected travel earlier this year, ​pushing fuel prices higher and disrupting ​flights ⁠in the Middle East and beyond. Middle Eastern carriers, some of the world’s biggest, ⁠have ​seen their networks upended ​by the conflict, but have gradually resumed their activity.