Etihad Airways is signing a collaboration agreement with Accenture to support the implementation of its business transformation program to improve productivity, efficiency and enable growth. As part of the multi-million dollar agreement, Accenture will provide strategy and management consulting services in the areas of human resources, finance, and procurement and supply management to streamline Etihad Airways’ corporate processes and enable the development of best-in-class capabilities within those functions.

Etihad Airways, alongside partner Italian flag-carrier Alitalia, is the Official Airline Sponsor of Expo Milan 2015. Here Breaking Travel News catches up with Stefania Morelli, manager of the Alitalia-Etihad Airways pavilion in Milan, to discuss the calendar of events for the coming months, visitor expectations and Etihad’s hopes for the Expo.

Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates, has welcomed the announcement that it has been assigned the rating of ‘A’ with a Stable Outlook, by Fitch Ratings. Fitch Ratings, one of the world’s largest credit ratings agencies, issued the Long-term Issuer Default Rating following a detailed independent analysis of Etihad Airways’ business, its commercial performance and its equity alliance strategy.

Etihad Airways achieved its strongest financial results to date in 2014, posting a net profit of US$ 73 million on total revenues of US$ 7.6 billion. The figures are up 52.1 per cent and 26.7 per cent respectively over the previous year. The performance, which marked the airline’s fourth consecutive year of net profitability, also saw earnings before interest and tax up 32.5 per cent to US$ 257 million.

Etihad Airways will add a fourth daily service between Abu Dhabi and Bangkok from July 1st 2015. Operated by a B777-300ER aircraft, the new service will increase the number of round-trip flights which Etihad Airways operates between the two cities to 28 per week, and add approximately 5,000 weekly seats to the route.

Etihad Airways has strengthened its presence in east Africa with the launch of new services between Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates and Entebbe, in central Uganda. Operated by a two-class Airbus A320 aircraft with 16 Business Class and 120 Economy Class seats, the new service is designed to provide business and leisure travellers with a direct four-times-per-week service between Entebbe and Abu Dhabi.