Etihad Airways Orders 3 More Airbus A350 Freighters As Cargo Business Grows

An Etihad Airways executive has confirmed that the Middle Eastern carrier exercised options for three more Airbus A350F aircraft, taking the airline’s total order book for the type to ten.

More A350Fs

Speaking to FreightWaves, a United States-based publication focused on logistics and cargo, Stanislas Brun, the vice president of cargo of Etihad Airways, confirmed that the airline exercised three options for the A350F, Airbus’ newest cargo aircraft.

Talking with the publication at the International Air Cargo Association event ‘Air Cargo Forum 2024’ between November 12 and November 14, Brun said that the airline’s board approved the additional three A350Fs in November.

While final delivery terms have to be negotiated, Brun told FreightWaves that the deal will increase Etihad Airways’ cargo fleet to 15 aircraft.

Currently, Etihad Airways has five Boeing 777F aircraft, which Boeing delivered between January 2013 and November 2018, according to ch-aviation data.

While the airline has orders for the 777X, with Boeing’s order and delivery data showing 25 unfilled gross orders for the type, it has not opted to purchase the 777-8F, instead going for the freight variant of the A350, the A350F.

It curently operates five A350-1000s, with a further 15 aircraft of the type on order, ch-aviation records showed.

Airbus announced Etihad Airways’ A350F order in August 2022, with the airline firming up its options for seven aircraft at the time. A preliminary agreement for the septet freighters was signed at Singapore Airshow in February 2022.

According to the European plane maker, the A350F will meet the “imminent wave of large freighter replacements and the evolving environmental requirements, shaping the future of air freight.”

Growing cargo revenues

When Etihad Airways reported its Q3 and nine-month results for the period ending September 30 on November 14, the airline highlighted that its cargo revenue increased 21% year-on-year (YoY) to AED3 billion ($808 million).

The result was driven by increased capacity, higher volumes (up 14% YoY), and higher yields, the carrier stated.

Antonoaldo Neves, the chief executive officer (CEO) of Etihad Airways, said that the airline’s impressive profit and revenue growth – with the former improving by 66% YoY to AED1.4 billion ($368 million) – was underpinned by solid results in both passenger and cargo revenues.

The results underscored the effectiveness of its strategy and the strength of the airline’s growth trajectory, with Etihad Airways reporting ongoing improvements in customer satisfaction.

Next generation of freighters

Both the A350F and 777-8F will be the new generation of freighters, with new International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) emissions and noise standards, which the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has adopted, spelling the end of the production of the 767F and 777F beyond 2028.

According to a document by the International Council On Clean Transportation (ICCT), the 777-200LR, which serves as the base for the 777F, exceeds ICAO’s emission standards by between 4% and 9%.

While the FAA Reauthorization Act 2024 essentially granted the 767F an exemption, allowing Boeing to build the type for five years after January 1, 2028, the company announced on October 23 that it would end the production of the type in 2027.

On October 11, Boeing said that it would delay the entry of the 777-8F, the successor of the 777F, to 2028. Meanwhile, when Airbus announced the A350F, the type was scheduled to begin commercial flights in 2025.

In May 2023, the European manufacturer said that the entry-into-service (EIS) date of the A350F slipped to 2026.