DUBAI, June 14 (Xinhua) -- Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), cut losses in the "core operations" in 2017 by 432 million U.S. dollars, the carrier said in a statement on Thursday.
Etihad said that unit cost efficiencies have improved by 7.3 percent, despite the adverse impact of 337 million dollars from higher fuel prices, the statement said.
The price of oil briefly hit a four-year high in May amid concerted output cuts by major oil suppliers and rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East and elsewhere, translating into higher prices of jet fuel.
Mohamed Mubarak Fadhel Al Mazrouei, chairman of the Board of Etihad Aviation Group, said 2017 was a "pivotal year in Etihad's transformation journey."
Etihad Airways received 12 new aircraft in 2017, including two Airbus A380s, nine Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, and an Airbus A330F.
Earlier in October last year, Emirates President Tim Clark said the Dubai airline was open to cooperate with local rival Etihad, but stressed that a full merger between the two was "up to the owners," hence the ruling families of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
In January this year, Emirates Airline, the Dubai-based international carrier of the UAE, and Etihad announced they signed a Memorandum of Understanding for cooperation in aviation security.
