“We're just preparing for the future”

ETIHAD IS OUT SHOPPING FOR PLANES AND TALENT; CEO EXPLAINS WHY THEY ARE KEY TO ITS PLANS

- BY DHANUSHA GOKULAN

Forget incremental progress; Etihad Airways is amid a transformative journey marked by audacious growth targets and a deep commitment to nurturing local talent.

The airline's blueprint for the coming years, unveiled in a recent discussion with the airline CEO Antonoaldo Neves, paints a picture of an ever-expanding network fuelled by a steady stream of new aircraft and a workforce set to grow by 2,000 annually for the next couple of years.

The airline currently increased its fleet from around 70 aircraft in 2022 to 100 and is gearing up for further expansion.

"We're going to be adding 20 planes yearly for the next four to five years," said Neves.

The CEO also unveiled plans for its upcoming Airbus A321LR, the $1 billion retrofit plan, and strong balance sheets.

Here are the top highlights from Gulf News' conversation with Neves.

You recently inked a deal with Boeing for 28 new long-haul aircraft, a mixture of B787 and B777X. How important is the deal for you?

That's a very important thing for us. We've been buying planes, I would say, almost every month for the past two years. We had a fleet of 67 to 70 planes by 2022; now, our fleet is 100. It's a new type (of aircraft) we will bring after 2030.

Why the 777x? Our stakeholders needed to realise that we are now planning for 2028. Many will arrive after 2030, so we're just preparing for the future. If you think 28 planes, that is a good number, but I'll probably need more.

So, we will keep buying planes because we like to buy as we go. We do that because we like to leave fleet optionality. I don't want to lock in my future 100 per cent.