Etihad Airways Chief Revenue and Commercial Officer Arik De speaking to delegates at Routes World 2024 in Bahrain.
Etihad Airways, which has been through a drastic reshaping over recent years, is planning to announce significant network expansion over the coming months, as it prepares to take delivery of its first Airbus A321LR.
“The date to watch out for is Nov. 25, when we will announce 11 new cities. And then, next year—around January or February—we're going to announce 20 more cities. So we have a lot of growth coming,” Etihad Airways Chief Revenue and Commercial Officer Arik De told delegates at Routes World in Bahrain.
Etihad has been revamping its operations for nearly three years, since a major management change. However, its fleet has grown fleet from 65 aircraft post-pandemic to 73 last year and 96 this year.
“We are growing at 40% each year,” De said. “We will be bigger than [we were in] 2017 at some point next year.”
One of the milestones for 2025 will be the arrival of Etihad’s first A321LR. De said the onboard configuration will be announced on Feb. 25, including lie-flat beds with all-aisle access.
The A321LR will unlock new destinations, where the Boeing 787, 777 and A350 are too big. The longer-range narrowbody will also make it possible for Etihad to add a third daily frequency at “a few different cities in Europe.”
“Expect a lot of destinations—secondary cities in Europe and Asia that are going to come into play,” De said. “We will be the only airline in the region to have that integrated fleet that allows us to go from widebody capacity to LR capacity, offering the same product.”
Etihad is also launching a $700 million cabin refresh for its 787s and A380s. When quizzed on how long the A380s will remain in service, De replied: “The interior team tells me that it could go on until 2040. I don't believe that ... what I can say right now is we'll probably be comfortably flying up until 2030.”
At the moment, Etihad has seven A380s in service on routes including London Heathrow, New York JFK and Paris Charles de Gaulle, with Singapore joining its A380 network from February 2025, along with “one more destination that's never seen it [the A380] before.”
De also hinted that at least one more U.S. destination is planned, and there is potential for further expansion in Russia. He added that Africa is a “big gap” in Etihad’s network.
“We have a lot of growth coming,” he said. “We are becoming omni-directional, but I think it's foolish to go and chase too many things.”
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