While Etihad Airways, unlike Emirates and flydubai, didn’t announce any new aircraft orders at Dubai Airshow 2023, it did present its vision for the next few years. As part of “Journey 2030” as the airline calls the plan, the airline plans to significantly grow its fleet and network.
A couple of days ago, Etihad revealed its Summer 2024 schedule which shows the airline’s first steps toward achieving the plan. In addition to increasing frequencies on a number of existing routes, there is also a number of new destinations the Etihad plans to serve.
Etihad’s Journey 2030: The Basics
In the last year, Etihad transported 13 million passengers (+30% vs. 2022). With less than 100 aircraft in its fleet (a good portion of that being narrowbodies) and about 80 destinations in its network, Etihad Airways is by far the smallest of the three ME3 carriers.
For comparison, Emirates transported over 40 million while Qatar over 30 million. Both Emirates and Qatar Airways have over 250 mostly widebody aircraft and serve well over 100 destinations.
Etihad appears to be ready to shrink that gap, though. Speaking on Dubai Airshow 2023’s second day, Etihad’s CEO Antonoaldo Neves outlined Journey 2030, the airline’s expansion plan with some bold goals for the next seven years.
As part of Journey 2030, in the next seven years, Etihad plans to:
- Double its fleet to over 160 aircraft
- Grow its network to over 125 destinations
- Hit peak 2017 passenger numbers by early 2025 and 33 million passengers by 2030
The growth will focus on traffic between the GCC (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates) and Europe/North America. In addition to launching new destinations, the airline also plans to increase capacity on existing destinations.
Currently, more than a third of Etihad’s fleet is made up of widebody Boeing 787-9s. The airline operates a few other widebody types 777-300ERs, 787-10s, A350-1000, and even the A380 that it brought out of storage recently, too. Additionally, Etihad also has a narrowbody fleet of Airbus A320-200s and A321-200s.
Etihad also has a major order backlog for about 100 aircraft with Airbus and Boeing. This includes orders for more 787-9s, 787-10s, and A350-1000s. It also includes orders for new types for the airline – the 777-9 and the A321neo.
Summer 2024 Schedule Network Expansion
Etihad’s Summer 2024 schedule expands the airline’s capacity by 25% compared to last summer. According to Neves, it also aims to make “it easier to stopover in Abu Dhabi to enjoy our exhilarating and welcoming home.”
In Europe, Etihad plans to increase frequencies to Athens (up to double daily) and to make Copenhagen a year-round destination. It also plans to add the following destinations:
- Malaga, Spain: 3x week from June 2, 2024, to September 15, 2024, using Boeing 787-9
- Mykonos, Greece: 2x week from June 17, 2024, to September 13, 2024, using Airbus A320
- Nice, France: 2x week from June 15, 2024, to September 14, 2024, using Boeing 787-9
- Santorini, Greece: 2x week from June 15, 2024, to September 14, 2024, using Airbus A320
In Asia, Etihad will increase frequencies to Bangkok and Colombo. It will also launch two new destinations in India – Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram – starting on January 1, 2024. Both of the new destinations will operate daily using Airbus A320 aircraft.
Lastly, the airline will also increase its presence in North America and Africa. On March 31, 2024, it will launch four weekly flights to Boston in the United States using Boeing 787-9s. On May 1, 2024, a daily connection to Nairobi in Kenya using Airbus A320-200s will follow.
Summary
Not only is Etihad the smallest of the three major Middle Eastern carriers but it also went through some financial difficulties recently. However, as its performance has improved, the airline is now looking to get back on a growth trajectory with its Journey 2030 plan.
Etihad has ambitious plans to double its fleet and add dozens of destinations in the next seven years as part of the plan. To get closer to achieving the latter, in 2024, Etihad will be launching a number of new destinations including Greek holiday destinations of Mykonos and Santorini and a couple of destinations in India.
