Etihad Airways has ordered 30 Boeing 787-10 models from Boeing, which when combined with its existing 41 orders for the 787-9 make Etihad the largest customer in the Boeing 787 family with commitments for 71 aircraft. Â In addition to the 30 firm orders, Etihad indicated that it has options and purchase rights for an additional 12 aircraft.
“This is a significant, timely and essential order for us, as we celebrate our tenth anniversary and plan for our next decade and beyond,” said Etihad Airways President and CEOÂ James Hogan. “In just 10 years, we have grown from a start-up carrier to a global airline. This order enables us to build upon our achievements, using the next generation of aircraft to support our next generation of development.”
The 787 will be used on a variety of routes to the carrier’s hub in Abu Dhabi, and will provide the airline 4 sizes of Boeing wide-body aircraft, the 787-9, 787-10, 777-8X and 777-9X to meet a portion of its fleet needs.
The carrier also ordered 50 Airbus A350XWB aircraft that will be used to expand its network. Â Currently the smallest of the Big 3 Gulf carriers, Etihad is rapidly expanding with its unique strategy of equity ownership in airlines with which it code shares, including AirBerlin and JetAirways in India. Â For regional services the carrier also ordered 26 A321neo and 10 A320neo narrow-body models.
So far, during the Dubai Air Show, Etihad has ordered 56 new aircraft from Boeing and 87 new aircraft from Airbus, indicating a planned significant expansion to its operations.
