Etihad Airways points to expected demand on routes from its Abu Dhabi base to London and India to justify its surprise decision to order four Airbus A380s as part of its $7 billion deal for 24 Airbus widebodies placed at the Farnborough air show last month.
Although the state-owned start-up carrier had previously indicated that the A380 did not figure in its expansion plans, Etihad may now deploy the 550-seater to London and Mumbai when it receives the aircraft in 2007. "These are two routes on which our chairman says we are looking at using the A380," says the airline. London Heathrow is already served by the airline and the Indian cities of Mumbai and New Delhi are on its target list.
When speaking to Flight International in April after Etihad's inaugural flight to London Heathrow, chairman Dr Ahmed bin Saif Al Nahyan ruled out an order for ultra-large airliners: "I'd rather add more frequencies," he said.
Etihad's Airbus order also includes 12 A330-200s and eight A340-500/600s (Flight International, 27 July-2 August). The airline serves eight points in the Middle East, Asia and Europe. Bangkok will become its South-East Asia hub. African destinations - including Johannesburg - are being studied as well as points in North America.
Source: Flight International
