Abu Dhabi, UAE � H.E Dr Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saif Al Nahyan, the Chairman of Etihad Airways and Director General of the Civil Aviation Department of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, has announced that Robert W. Strodel will assume full responsibility as Chief Executive Officer of the airline with immediate effect.

He said in a statement that �Robert W Strodel has contributed substantially to the considerable success Etihad has enjoyed. Our continued growth and ambitious long term plans make the appointment of a CEO a natural development and it is testament to our strength that we have been able to make this an appointment from within. Robert in his former role as Head of Cargo and Mail has proven his ability to lead and his broad international experience make him the candidate of choice as we continue our expansion.�

Of Austrian origin, Robert W Strodel worked for Lufthansa German Airlines for many years. He founded Lufthansa Cargo India in 1996 leading the company as Managing Director. In 2001 he founded his own aviation consultancy in Germany offering global aviation consulting services. �Our Etihad team of over 70 nationalities has achieved unprecedented success, � said Strodel in a statement in Abu Dhabi. �We look forward with optimism as we move to our next goal which will be marked by the arrival of our new fleet of planes built exclusively to Etihad specifications.

Earning the support of our guests and clients here in the UAE and internationally is the essence of our business and we will fulfill our potential as a leading airline for the 21st century by total customer focus.�

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Notes to the editors: Etihad, which is based in Abu Dhabi, was established in July 2003 by decree of the UAE Government. Current routes include London Heathrow and London Gatwick, Geneva, Munich, Beirut, Damascus, Amman, Colombo, Cairo, Mumbai, Bangkok, Karachi, Bahrain, Dammam, Riyadh and New Delhi.

The airline signed a Memorandum of Understanding at Farnborough 2004 to purchase 24 Airbus aircraft with an option to purchase 12 additional aircraft. The total value of this agreement is in excess of $7 billion. Additionally an order for five Boeing 777-300ER aircraft was placed in September 2004 for delivery starting 2005. This order is valued at $1.09 billion. The airline has a long-term plan to expand its fleet of aircraft up to a total of 50 by 2009.