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

DUBAI, Sept 14 (Reuters) - 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.