Etihad Airways Is In Talks With Airbus & Boeing For Widebodies As It Plans To Double Fleet

Etihad Airways has been in early talks with Airbus and Boeing to order widebody aircraft, with the Airbus A350 and Boeing 777X being in contention for the Middle Eastern carrier’s new order.

Doubling in size

According to a Bloomberg report, which cited sources familiar with the matter, Etihad Airways has been talking with Airbus and Boeing about a potential order for twin-aisle jets.

The airline has set its sights on either the A350 or 777X aircraft, with the carrier aiming to significantly expand over the next few years.

However, the Bloomberg report added that the airline and the two manufacturers were in the early stages of the discussions for a potential order, which could mean a potential deal could be months away.

The closest major industry event was the upcoming Paris Air Show, which is scheduled to kick off on June 16.

At the same time, Etihad Airways has not purchased aircraft at the event in Paris, France, since 2007, usually opting to announce its deals either outside of industry tradeshows or at the Dubai Airshow. In 2007, the carrier bought four Airbus A340-600, five A330-200, and three A330F aircraft.

The airline ordered aircraft from Airbus and Boeing at the Farnborough International Airshow in 2008, when the airline’s firm orders numbered 20 Airbus A320, 25 A350, and ten A380s, as well as 35 Boeing 787 and ten 777-300ER aircraft.

At the next year’s Paris Airshow, General Electric (GE) announced that Etihad Airways had chosen the engines for the A380 (Engine Alliance GP7200), the 777 (GE90), and the 787 (GEnx) in a deal that had a list value of $2.2 billion.

At the event in Dubai in 2013, Etihad Airways was one of the launch customers of the 777X, with the airline also purchasing more 787s. The carrier’s order numbered 17 777-9, eight 777-8, and 30 787-10 aircraft.

Affected by delivery delays

Etihad Airways currently has a fleet of 102 aircraft, including 14 A320ceo, one A320neo (wet leased from Air Seychelles), nine A321ceo, six A321neo, five A350-1000, ten A380 (five inactive), five 777F, nine 777-300ER, 33 787-9, and ten 787-10, according to ch-aviation data.

In March, Antonoaldo Neves, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Etihad Airways, was frustrated over the delivery delays of aircraft from Airbus and Boeing. Neves remarked that the carrier’s biggest headache was aircraft availability.

Ch-aviation data also showed that since 2020, the airline has taken delivery of only seven aircraft, which includes one A350-1000 and six 787-10s.

Forced to refurbish old cabins

In September, Neves told CNBC that Etihad Airways would invest up to $7 billion to double in size until 2030.

However, the sum included planned cabin refurbishments of its 777-300ER aircraft, which, on average, are 13.6 years old, with the airline’s CEO citing the lack of available aircraft on the market as the reason why its Triple Sevens would receive new cabins starting in 2026.