In Depth Analysis of The Etihad Airways Aircraft Fleet

Etihad is the youngest of the main middle eastern carriers. The last of the super connector airlines to be launched. Etihad history is a short but intense one. The airline started operations in 2003 backed by the government of the emirate of Abu Dhabi. The ambition was to take on the much larger and established Emirates and establish Abu Dhabi as a competitor transit and touristic hub. That only partially came to realisation. The airline has been through a rollercoaster ride during the just over 20 years of existence. Only in recent years has somewhat of a stability been reached. So let’s dive into what the fleet of Etihad Airways looks like and how it uses its planes.

Etihad Airways Mixed Wide and Narrow Body Fleet

Etihad took quite the different approach to building its fleet when comparing it to Emirates. The Abu Dhabi based airline opted for a mixed wide and narrow body aircraft fleet. A decision that is also out of necessity as filling planes is often more of a problem for EY. This is less the case in recent years, but back when I used to work in Emirates we used to mock Etihad by calling it Empty-had referring to their notoriously low load factors in the early 2010s.

The issue with this fleet of smaller narrow body planes is that there is a huge discrepancy in passenger experience. Flying on the A320s or A321s you’ll have a much more premium feeling experience, particularly is flying on sectors in excess of 3 hours. I personally would carefully check what planes the airline uses on flights prior to booking. If you’re likely to fly on a narrow body for a longish sector, you might want to consider some different options.

That aside, let’s dive into the Etihad Fleet analysis.

The Etihad Narrow Body Fleet – Comfortable for The Airline, Less For Passengers

Etihad currently owns and flies 30 narrow body planes. They are all Airbus and over the past few months Etihad has been taking delivery of more new generation A320neo and A321neo planes. These planes are greatly helping the airline drive down operational costs in medium haul operations. That means making the extremely lucrative flights to India even more profitable. Specifically EY flies:

• 14 Airbus A320-200
• 9 Airbus A321-200
• 6 Airbus A321neo
• 1 Airbus A320neo

These planes all feature a 2 class configuration with real business class seats. What I mean by that is that you won’t be sitting in an economy seat with the middle seat blocked, as is common place in Europe. The A320s feature alternatively 8 or 16 Business class seats in a 2-2 layout with either 120, 150 or 168 Economy class seats. The A321s feature either 8 or 16 Business class seats in a 2-2 layout and between 182 and 215 Economy class seats.

You’ll mainly come across these planes on flights to India, Pakistan, the middle east and in some rare instances southern Europe.

The Etihad Airways Wide Body Fleet – With a Clear Favourite Plane

While there are only Airbus planes making up the narrow body fleet, Boeing represents the majority of wide body planes in Etihad Airways fleet. With one of the planes being the clear favourite of the airline for its long range and ULR sectors.

Out of 64 wide body long haul capable planes 52 are Boeing-produced. Here’s the breakdown of the Etihad Airways long haul fleet:

• 5 Airbus A350-1000
• 7 Airbus A380-800
• 33 Boeing 787-9
• 10 Boeing 787-10
• 9 Boeing 777-300ER

The clear favourite for Etihad and its long-haul operations is the Boeing 787. The airline not only operates the Dreamliner but also has adopted the larger 10 variant which hasn’t enjoyed so much success among airlines worldwide. The 787-10 is a middle ground between a small wide body plane and the jumbos, such as the 777-300ER. A size which few carriers have found a use for in their operations.

Interestingly Etihad Airways has also taken into its fleet a plane that Emirates still deems non satisfactory for use in hot locations such as the UAE, the Airbus A350-1000. Also, EY still operates the Airbus A380. Etihad deploys these planes to congested airports, such as London Heathrow. It has brought most of its A380 fleet back from desert storage despite the relationship between EY and the A380 not always being the smoothest.

Why Does Etihad Operate Narrow Body Planes?

Etihad doesn’t have the same large volumes of passengers Emirates does everywhere it flies. Simply its brand and connection offering still has to make up some ground on the more famous UAE airline.

Therefore, it only makes economic sense to have a fleet of smaller planes that are easier to fill than the large wide bodies. I’m sure that if passenger figures rise rapidly, you’ll see many more wide bodies on those routes currently operated by single aisle planes.

The Much Smaller Etihad Cargo Fleet

Cargo has become extremely relevant and an important leg of the business for many airlines following 2020. However, for Etihad it remains limited with a lot of freight still preferring to be directed via Dubai International Airport which has many more well-equipped facilities.

Despite that Etihad still operates a modest cargo operation, powered by a fleet of 5 Boeing 777F.