On 9 December 2022, Etihad Airways officially announced it will return the A380 back to service. The plan is to utilize the type as of the summer season next year exclusively on the Abu-Dhabi to London-Heathrow route. The airline is flying into Heathrow four times a day and all these flights will be flown by the A380, freeing up Airbus A350s and Boeing B787s for increasing frequencies to other destinations as well as opening new routes.
Etihad Airways once had ten A380s in the fleet. It's unclear which of those will return and the airline has started preparations for it by recruiting and training additional staff.
The status of the ten Etihad Airways A380s is currently as follow:
A6-APA (166), stored at Tarbes-Lourdes since 5 November 2020 A6-APB (170), stored at Tarbes-Lourdes since 3 December 2020 A6-APC (176), stored at Tarbes-Lourdes since 16 December 2020 A6-APD (180), stored at Teruel since 11 May 2021 A6-APE (191), stored at Teruel since 15 June 2021 A6-APF (195), stored at Teruel since 28 May 2021 A6-APG (198), stored at Teruel since 19 April 2021 A6-APH (199), stored at Teruel since 23 June 2021 A6-API (233), stored at Tarbes-Lourdes since 26 January 2021 A6-APJ (237), stored at Teruel since 26 April 2021
Etihad Airways will be the eighth airline to be flying the A380 (again), following in the footsteps of All Nippon Airways, Asiana Airlines, British Airways, Emirates, Lufthansa, Qantas, and Qatar Airways.
Etihad Airways has, on 31 March 2022, finally launched operations with the A350-1000, three years after taking delivery of its first one.
The first revenue flight was operated by A6-XWB (290), which flew to Paris-Charles de Gaulle and back to Abu Dhabi. The flight to Paris, however, was a one-off flight as Etihad will operate the type, initially, to Istanbul and Mumbai. Later, Cairo, Delhi and Jeddah will be added.
So far, Etihad has taken delivery of five A350-1000s, with fifteen remaining on order. It's, however, unclear if the airline will take delivery of all of them as they are still reshuffling its orders with Airbus. Etihad has also signed a LoI for seven A350Fs.
In the fleet, the A350-1000 is set to replace the B777-300ER, of which it operates twelve.
Etihad Planning Airbus A350-1000 Introduction In 2022
In May, Etihad Airways started moving its unused Airbus A350-1000s from storage in France to its facilities at Abu Dhabi International for the first time in two years. In an exclusive interview with Simple Flying, the carrier’s CEO, Tony Douglas, explained that his company is gearing up to enter the widebody into service next year.
In February 2019, Etihad decided to cut back orders on several of its aircraft. 42 A350s and two A350-1000s were part of the agreed contract terminations. Nonetheless, the A350 will still be a key feature in the airline’s fleet in the near future.
With the shifting of the planes to the Middle East, progress is on its way. There are high hopes for the cabin fit, and Douglas is excited for passengers to see it for themselves. After the A350’s introduction, it will support other widebodies, such as the airline’s staple, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, on long-haul missions.
“We accepted our first two into Abu Dhabi just three months ago to undertake the cabin fit-out and configuration. We have a large-scale MRO here, Etihad Engineering. Not surprisingly, I’ve been in the first one, and the product is absolutely incredible, as you would all expect from Etihad. We’ll look to schedule those into service probably next year,” Douglas told Simple Flying.
“But, of course, dependent upon travel restrictions, because at the moment, what we’ve really tried to do wherever possible, is hunker down just around 787 given the scale of our availability to that fleet type, and the way in which of course we can optimize it when passenger load factors are low. Having said that, the two aircraft types, with the way they complement each, we’ve obviously got range and additional load with the 350.
The right balance
In total, Etihad presently has 30 787-9 and nine 787-10 aircraft in its fleet. These aircraft, along with the A350, are fan favorites in the aviation industry. Airlines are increasingly focusing on these two types to make them flagships across their operations. Etihad is privileged to have both powerhouses at its disposal, and Douglas is grateful for this factor and highlights that they help his firm meet sustainability requirements.
The executive emphasizes that the efficiency of the jets will be a difference-maker in terms of those that will succeed in the post-pandemic climate. He is confident that there will be an end to the global health crisis, but sustainability will be at the forefront of aviation for generations.
Overall, Etihad customers won’t have to wait too long to jump on an A350-1000 with the carrier. As international travel slowly gets back on track, 2022 is set to be a crucial year for the airline.
Abu Dhabi, UAE - Gulf carrier Etihad Airways is planning to permanently ground its Airbus A380s and never operate the Airbus A350s it has ordered.
The state-owned carrier is reviewing its fleet strategy after the coronavirus pandemic hit travel demand, which Etihad’s management expects will take years to recover, two sources said.
Etihad may retire its 10 A380s early with them potentially never returning to service after the virus outbreak grounded the airline’s passenger flights in March, the sources said.
Airlines around the world have been idling the double-decker plane because of the impact of the coronavirus crisis on air travel.
On Wednesday, Air France said it was retiring its nine A380s and sources said Emirates was in talks to reduce remaining deliveries of the aircraft.
Etihad is also considering whether to operate the A350-1000, the sources said. They said the airline was expected to make a decision on the fate of the two Airbus wide-bodies soon.
The Gulf-based operator has 17 Airbus A350-100 on order waiting to be delivered.
Air Serbia (JU, Belgrade) will wet-lease an A330-200 from its 49% owner Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi Int'l) between January 12 and February 14, 2019, to cover for scheduled maintenance of the carrier's only in-house widebody.
The Serbian flag carrier currently deploys its only A330-200, YU-ARA (msn 885), on a 3x weekly service between Belgrade and New York JFK. The aircraft is equipped with 236 economy class seats and 18 business class seats.
For its part, Etihad Airways currently operates eighteen A330-200s. All of them are configured for 240 economy class passengers and 22 business class passengers.
Air Serbia's 2016 US Department of Transportation (DOT) application foresaw the option of wet-leasing aircraft for the New York route from its equity partner for ad-hoc needs such as maintenance downtime of the Serbian carrier's own widebody.
Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi Int'l) has confirmed it is in the process of selling off its fleet of five A330-200(F)s. The widebody freighters were withdrawn from service effective January 1 and have been placed into storage in Abu Dhabi Int'l and Teruel ever since.
A company spokesman has since confirmed to ch-aviation that the five aircraft "are in advanced stages of being sold to a new owner.” No further details concerning potential buyers were mentioned.
Etihad's freighter fleet currently consists of five B777-Fs all of which are used on flights connecting Abu Dhabi with India and the Subcontinent, the Far East, China, Sub-Saharan Africa, North and South America, and Europe.
Etihad is currently in the process of restructuring its operations and that has included the trimming of both its route network as well as fleet. Aside from the sale of the A330 freighters, Etihad has also retired its five B777-200(LR)s from service.
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates has signed a firm order for two additional A330-200F freighter aircraft to meet their growth plans in the cargo market. The airline was a launch customer and the launch operator of the A330-200F, having taken delivery of its first aircraft at the Farnborough International Airshow in 2010. Today’s order will increase the fleet of the airline’s cargo business, Etihad Crystal Cargo, to four A330-200F freighters.
“We are strongly committed to building our presence in the cargo sector with the platform of Abu Dhabi as our hub to connect global trade lanes,” Etihad Airways President and Chief Executive Officer, Mr James Hogan, said. “The A330-200F has been a key part of our recent success in the market. We are very pleased with its high reliability and versatility, and that’s why we are keen to expand this fleet type,” he said.
“This repeat order by Etihad underlines the key role the A330-200F is playing alongside larger freighters. The A330-200F enables Etihad to optimise its network by addressing markets which do not make business sense with large freighters,” said John Leahy, Airbus Chief Operating Officer, Customers. “In a challenging economic environment, with high fuel prices and yields under pressure, the A330-200F helps match capacity neatly with demand which allows for efficient cargo operations.”
The A330-200F, which has just celebrated a successful first year of efficient operation with a high operational reliability topping 99.5%, can carry up to 70 tonnes of payload and offer a range of up to 4,000nm. Nine A330-200F freighters are now flying with four operators in the Middle East, Europe and Asia.
The A330 Family, which spans 200 to 400 seats for the passenger variants, also includes Freighter, VIP, and Multi Role Tanker Transport (MRTT) variants, and has attracted close to 1,200 orders.
Etihad Airways has cancelled six Airbus A350-1000s, the first carrier to have cut its backlog for the type since the aircraft was redesigned last year.
Airbus had a backlog of 75 A350-1000s but its latest order and delivery figures show Etihad's backlog of 25 has been cut to 19.
While Etihad has not commented on the A350-1000 redesign, a source close to the carrier said it was not content with the changes made to the twinjet, echoing the feelings expressed by Emirates and Qatar Airways.
Airbus chief Tom Enders indicated there might be "short-term" issues regarding discussions with existing customers for the A350-1000.
The A350 programme secured orders for only 10 aircraft in 2011, while cancellation of 41 left the type in negative net figures for the year.
Cancellation of a single A350-800 also helped to reduce the A350 order backlog to 555 aircraft, comprising 118 -800s, 368 -900s and 19 -1000s.
Enders reiterated the airframer's caution over A350 development, admitting that postponement of its entry to the final assembly line had been decided after the programme "ran into some serious problems" with key elements.
He said the A350's final assembly would begin in March 2012. Without caution, and assurance of maturity, he said, "you're setting yourself up for disaster".
Chief operating officer for customers John Leahy said he was in discussions with three major airlines for the A350-1000, and added that the main problem was "getting them early delivery positions".
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