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Etihad Airways places big order made at UK air show

Etihad Airways places big order made at UK air show Etihad Airways placed a huge order on Monday at the Farnborough International Airshow for 100 aircraft worth over $20 billion (£10 billion).

The Abu Dhabi-based carrier ordered 25 wide-bodied A350, 20 single-aisle A320 planes, and ten A380 superjumbos from Airbus with a combined cost of $11 billion.

Furthermore, Etihad Airways splashed $9.4 billion on an order for 35 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and ten 777s from the American aircraft manufacturer.

This is part of a huge expansion plan by the five-year-old operator to build its fleet from 40 planes to around 150 by 2020.

James Hogan, chief executive of Etihad, said that "the size of our order... mirrors the rising prominence of the Middle East and its increasing emergence as a new focal point of global aviation".

The considerable oil wealth of the United Arab Emirates is thought to be behind much of the strong investment by Etihad and other Middle East airlines.

This major order reflects recent activity by Qatar Airways and Emirates which have both placed big orders to increase the size of their fleets.

Also at Farnborough, FlyDubai placed an order with Boeing for 50 single-aisle 737 passenger aircraft in a deal worth around $4 billion.

Previously, Emirates placed the biggest order of any operator in the world for the Airbus A380 superjumbo, which is the biggest passenger plane in the world.

Airbus has been quick to stress that despite the huge size of the plane, it also delivers lowered emissions and strong fuel economy.


Airline News posted on 15 July 2008

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