IAG’s Willie Walsh, Etihad Airways and flydubai receive top CAPA World Awards

Etihad Airways has been named the CAPA Airline of the Year for 2014 at the 12th annual CAPA Aviation Awards for Excellence in Antwerp, at a gala industry function hosted by Travelport.

The CAPA Airline of the Year is awarded to the carrier that has had the greatest impact on the development of the airline industry, established itself as a leader, and the benchmark for others to follow.

Peter Harbison, Executive Chairman of CAPA, said: "The efficiency of the aviation industry is strangled by archaic ownership and control rules that prevent cross border mergers and rationalisation of airline offerings. More than any other factor this has effectively confined the industry to drastic financial underperformance. Faced with this roadblock, no single full service airline has done more than Etihad Airways to challenge the status quo with its remarkable strategic partnership model.