Other Middle East and Africa Frequent Flyer Programs - Etihad's New Fleet plan: James Hogan on orders for up to 100, probably including A380

Once the planes start to trickle in, and competition starts working its miracles, we shud start to see quality and prices that make sense.


http://www.gulfnews.com/business/Aviation/10192001.html

Looks good. A350XWBs/B787s are a certainty in this deal & will probably indicate which way the airline is going. A350s are perhaps more likely given that the fleet is composed mostly of Airbus. If Boeing get a say in this order then EY obviously want to try using both suppliers. Hopefully more B77Ws since they used so much & are brilliant aircraft. B77Ls would be great for North America.

But before they do any of this can they PLEASE sort out Abu Dhabi airport. 2am it's chocker block!!

Looks good. A350XWBs/B787s are a certainty in this deal & will probably indicate which way the airline is going. A350s are perhaps more likely given that the fleet is composed mostly of Airbus. If Boeing get a say in this order then EY obviously want to try using both suppliers. Hopefully more B77Ws since they used so much & are brilliant aircraft. B77Ls would be great for North America.

But before they do any of this can they PLEASE sort out Abu Dhabi airport. 2am it's chocker block!!

I hear you on the airport front. However I guess by the time they start to receive those added planes, the new terminals/airport shud be in full swing.

Judging from a moc display AUH airport authority had in a recent travel exhibition in Dubai, the new airport looks VERY impressive.

AME info.com (http://www.ameinfo.com/147836.html)quotes Bloomberg:
Etihad Airways CEO James Hogan said the carrier plans to order between 50 to 100 planes from Airbus and Boeing, reported Bloomberg.

Etihad expects to receive the planes between 2013 and 2020.

The orders will probably include A380 superjumbos.


This news must be from a Beijing press conference, according to the Bloomberg article, below. There could be more news this week.

Bloomberg source. (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=agnLUSWRMfKw)
Etihad to fly 30% more passengers this year (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ax90kfd0Kff8)
Billions into aerospace by Abu Dhabi investor (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=avoK.oBLHq2w)

Hopefully the Airbus test process is kinder to these orders. :D

Beijing Service (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=agnLUSWRMfKw)
The Abu Dhabi-based carrier plans to operate 53 aircraft by the end of 2011, it said in a statement today. Etihad has 14 Airbus planes on order, including four A380s, according to the planemaker's Web site.

Persian Gulf carriers including Etihad, Qatar Airways and Emirates are among the top customers of Airbus and Boeing as they build their region into a center for tourism and transit flights between Europe, Asia and Africa. Abu Dhabi, the owner of about 90 percent of the U.A.E.'s oil wealth, is spending $6.8 billion to more than double its airport's capacity to 20 million passengers.



China news:
Etihad will begin a four-times-a-week service to Beijing in March, Hogan said today. The route may become a daily service in the future, he added.

The carrier is also in talks to begin flights to Shanghai and other Chinese cities, Hogan said.

From the horse's mouth, details on current and projected load factors - and for the first time I've seen it, profitability:

Etihad Airways to expand fleet (http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticlebiz.asp?xfile=data/business/2008/February/business_February833.xml&section=business&col=) [Khaleej Times]


The board of directors would decide on the issues relating to the models, makes of the aircraft, after receiving evaluation report on the needs of the airline‚ with reference to its route expansion in the next decade, said James Hogan CEO Etihad Airways while talking to reporters on the sidelines of two-day aviation summit in Abu Dhabi.

Delivery of the planes would be scheduled for between 2013 and 2020. Etihad is targeting a load factor of 80-85 per cent by 2010 compared with 69 per cent last year, he said. Hogan said the airline plans to break even by 2010.

Destinations to be added this year include Moscow and Almaty, Kazakhstan. Etihad is $1.5 billion worth of business with 38 aircraft flying to 45 destinations.



Moscow seems to be where the money is at the moment.
What a turnaround from fifteen years ago, in terms of aviation in USSR v USA.
Russia and Mid-East oil states would have a lot in common in terms of growth and trade.

Etihad could add 100 jets & 10,000 staff tomorow. What I'm worried about is the airport. Can someone please post a link detailing AUH's expansion to put me at rest!!

Cheers,

Etihad could add 100 jets & 10,000 staff tomorow. What I'm worried about is the airport. Can someone please post a link detailing AUH's expansion to put me at rest!!

Cheers,

Take a look at this. fairly detailed.

http://www.airport-technology.com/project_printable.asp?ProjectID=988

Etihad could add 100 jets & 10,000 staff tomorow. What I'm worried about is the airport. Can someone please post a link detailing AUH's expansion to put me at rest!!

Cheers,

'If' the airport can cope with the increased traffic, then the new F lounge, at 3x the size of the old one, will hopefully be a pleasant place of respite.

Update from the designer - in the 'AUH lounge' (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=787043)thread.
Design-led 'luxury in travel' (http://www.arabianbusiness.com/512567-style-in-travel?ln=en)and some hotel stuff.

'If' the airport can cope with the increased traffic, then the new F lounge, at 3x the size of the old one, will hopefully be a pleasant place of respite.

Update from the designer - in the 'AUH lounge' (http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=787043)thread.
Design-led 'luxury in travel' (http://www.arabianbusiness.com/512567-style-in-travel?ln=en)and some hotel stuff.

Whilst I see that lounges would be important, most of Etihads 'guests' fly in Coral & may not have a shiny enough piece of plastic to enititle them lounge access. The lounges remain a significant yet small part of the airport.

If anything, they should look at Dubai & learn from them. Yes, the place is a building site & even then, Dubai World Central is to be operational in 2015. Abu Dhabi & Dubai can be like zoo's during peak time. Given the major expansion plans for both them & their residient airlines, I hope that it doesn't snarl up!!

This may or may not be an update on previous reports.
Etihad Airways to order up to 100 aircraft this year - report (http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/newstex/AFX-0013-23981871.htm)LONDON, Mar. 24, 2008 (Thomson Financial delivered by Newstex) -- Etihad Airways, the Abu Dhabi-based carrier, is set to place a 20 bln usd order for up to 100 aircraft this summer, the Sunday Express reported.

The order, which is likely to be a mixture of Boeing (NYSE:BA) and EADS unit Airbus aircraft, is likely to be the world's biggest this year, and will dramatically increase the size of the airline's fleet from its current 39, the newspaper said.


I don't know how the $20B was calculated but these are large orders!

Sunday Express link - not yet online!
http://www.express.co.uk/search/Etihad/

Interestingly, they're not evaluating more B777s. Seems likely then an A320/A350/A380 order will come then...

With $20 billion USD, you could buy approximetly (http://http://www.airguideonline.com/aircr_prices.htm)

80 A380s
or
400 A320s!

Is the elephant in the room the pilot shortage?

Etihad and Emirates have strategies in place. Do the others?
Etihad Airways Launches Cadet Pilot Scheme (http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news_business.php?id=322563) [Bernama news, Malaysia]
United Arab Emirates' national carrier, Etihad Airways, has launched a new cadet pilot scheme in tandem with its fleet and network expansion plans.

The programme, which aims to attract cadet pilots from all over the globe, has received over 350 online applications since its launch on the airline's website.

The new pilot programme follows a similar scheme introduced by the Abu Dhabi-based airline for Emirates in January 2007.