Etihad orders 32 Airbus jets at Dubai Airshow, boosts fleet target to 200 by 2030

Dubai: Etihad Airways has confirmed an order for 32 new Airbus aircraft, including freighters, marking a major expansion of its wide-body fleet, airline CEO Antonoaldo Neves revealed to Gulf News.

Alongside this order, Etihad has increased its aircraft fleet target from a previous 170 planes to 200 jets by 2030, indicating a phase of rapid growth. This fleet expansion supports Etihad’s plan to boost passenger capacity to 37 million by 2030, up from 30 million passengers previously projected.

The airline’s latest order comprises roughly 15 Airbus A330-900 neos (re-engineered version of the original A330 wide-body airliner), about 10 to 15 freighters, and about 10 A350 -1000 (a long-range, wide-body twin-engine airliner). These aircraft deliveries are scheduled over the coming years, said Neves.

Commenting on engine orders, he said, “There are some engines coming with that. What we’re working on now is engine contract; not on buying the engines. But they will be powered by GE or Rolls Royce.”

The UAE’s national airline took delivery of its first Airbus A321LR (long range) in July this year, fitting it with Etihad’s signature business class suites into a narrow-body aircraft.

While Neves said the airline is pleased with the aircraft performance, they remain “really not happy” with the delays, especially in 2027 and 2028. Still, the CEO remains steadfast in his ambition to grow Etihad’s fleet by any means necessary.

The UAE’s national airline took delivery of its first Airbus A321LR (long range) in July this year, fitting it with Etihad’s signature business class suites into a narrow-body aircraft.

While Neves said the airline is pleased with the aircraft performance, they remain “really not happy” with the delays, especially in 2027 and 2028. Still, the CEO remains steadfast in his ambition to grow Etihad’s fleet by any means necessary.

“We have some delays. We have some buffers in our plan. We just got informed about delays in 2027, 2028. It’s a joke. We’re not happy with that,” he said, adding, “It is improving. We had to get our A350s that were supposed to arrive in January – February. Those will be delivered in December. It’s not all bad news… But, I’m not happy.”

Neves also said he fears the supply chain challenges plaguing the industry may “last forever as the number of suppliers it has is very limited. There’s very little competition and when you don’t have competition, you have to accommodate,” Neves stated.

The aviation veteran insisted that if he had to option to buy aircraft from a supplier who does not delay, he would “definitely buy it.” He added, “I don’t have an alternative. I don’t think it will improve. I have no hope. And aviation in the region is going to keep growing.”

Etihad has also increased its aircraft fleet target from a previous 170 planes to 200 jets by 2030, indicating a phase of rapid growth. This fleet expansion supports Etihad’s plan to boost passenger capacity to 37 million by 2030, up from 30 million passengers previously projected.

The CEO shared that this reflects an expected compound annual growth of around 15-20 per cent, with next year alone forecasted at 18-19 per cent.