Etihad Airways plans to launch about eight to 10 new destinations every year.
Etihad Airways is choosing to invest in its products and restore its previous Boeing 777 aircraft for more than $7 billion by 2030 as part of a goal to double its size, according to the company CEO.
Since there is now a two- to three-year wait for new aircraft, the airline will start a program to convert its older 777 wide-bodies, which will begin in 2026. Etihad has a total of nine Boeing 777 passenger planes in its inventory.
The CEO of Emirates, Antonoaldo Neves, stated that they are investing $7 billion over the next five years from their cash flow generation and not raising capital from outside.
When asked about plans for a possible IPO, Mr. Neves said that the shareholder, the investment company ADQ, an Abu Dhabi-based company, will make that decision, but no decision has been implemented.
However, the airline’s management continues to work hard to ensure a good profit margin, excellent customer service, a governance structure, and a solid company plan if ADQ decides to list the shares of the business.
Mr Neves continues saying that airlines should be listed because, even if capital is not needed for the next five to six years, to expand and accelerate even further, one needs to have access to a variety of funding sources to support the expansion.
There is a growing trend of post-pandemic recovery in the travel industry where passengers are resuming travel plans after years of restrictions. Etihad Airways reported a 48 percent increase in its first-half net profits by taking advantage of a strategic network expansion and higher aircraft frequencies.
In a recent report, the airline reported that its profit after tax increased from Dh575 million to Dh851 million ($232 million) from January to June of the previous year.
The airline carried 12 million passengers in the first eight months of 2024, compared to 8.9 million in the same period in 2023. Load factor, a measure used to calculate how well an airline fills available seats, stood at 86 percent for the duration.
According to Mr. Neves, Etihad Airways’ load factor for this month is between 90 and 92 percent, and its aircraft are exceptionally filled. This is due to the high load factor, efficient network planning, and customer satisfaction, which has successfully raised customer loyalty and brand reputation in the competitive airline market.
The airline plans to invest to double its size by 2030, which would include tripling the number of passengers to 33 million by the end of the decade and doubling its fleet to 170 aircraft.
Etihad Airways plans to launch about eight to 10 new destinations every year. This year, the airline has added 11 new destinations; the most recent was Bali in June.
Etihad Airways revealed new routes to Prague and Warsaw, with service commencing in the summer of 2025.
After canceling flights during the COVID-19 outbreak, the airline is reintroducing five Airbus A380 double-deckers into service. Additionally, the airline has announced new A320 narrow-bodies with lie-flat business class seats next year.
With lie-flat business class seats in 80–90% of the aircraft, there will be consistent products in the narrow-body fleets.
The airline is also making investments to upgrade its wide-body Boeing 777 fleet. It takes the manufacturers two years to produce a single new seat, given the limitations of the global aviation industry of no available aircraft.
Due to the outdated interiors of several of the 777s, they had to decide to bring them back. The renovation will start in 2026 and include reconditioning all of the aircraft. With all the changes, there will be completely new airlines by 2026 and 2027.
