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.

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.