Etihad Aviation Group (EAG) recently announced the launch of
Fikra, a UAE-based competition for students to grow entrepreneurship and innovation across
the country.
“Innovation is key to how we do
business and how we will continue to grow as a travel group,” Ray Gammell, chief people and performance officer for EAG, said. “We’ve
reached the size we are today by innovating quickly and supporting an
entrepreneurial spirit throughout our business units. That commitment doesn’t
stop; the new Fikra project gives us an opportunity to hear from the country’s
next generation and we hope it will deliver ideas that can push us to the next
level of our development.”
The competition will focus on 10 areas
where the company is looking for specific ideas. These key areas of business
are digital evolution, stopover visits, ancillary sales opportunities,
improving loyalty schemes, specialist cargo, social media, youth engagement,
airport experience and the environment.
“The competition will provide
another opportunity for the youth of the UAE to tell us about their ideas so we
can continue to build both the best airline but also one fit for the challenges
of the future,” Hareb Al Muhairy, senior vice president for corporate and International affairs at EAG, said. “Innovation
is essential to the development of our airline, and we’re
excited about the ideas we’re going to see and the
possibilities ahead.”
