Etihad Airways Unveils $7 Billion Investment Plan To Double Airline Size By 2030

Etihad Airways revealed its plan to spend over $7 billion by 2030 to upgrade its older Boeing 777 planes and improve its services as part of a plan to double the airline's size.

Etihad's Group Chief Executive Officer Antonoaldo Neves told CNBC that the airline's investment will focus on various advancements, including increasing its fleet to 170 planes from the current 92 and tripling passenger numbers to 33 million by the end of the decade.

Neves mentioned that the airline plans to launch about eight to 10 new destinations every year. So far this year, Etihad has introduced 11 new destinations, with the latest being Bali. In September, the airline announced new routes to Prague and Warsaw, which will begin in the summer of 2025.

During the Global Aerospace Summit in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, Neves said the airline will begin retrofitting its dated Boeing 777 planes starting 2026, as there is currently a two- to three-year wait for new aircraft.

Etihad, as per its website, currently has a fleet of nine Boeing 777 passenger aircraft.

"We're going to be investing $7 billion in the next five years and the beauty of this is that we're going to be investing with our own cash flow generation, so we don't need any capital from outside to do that investment," he was quoted as saying by The National.

Neves also spoke about a potential initial public listing, noting that no decision has been made yet and that any decision will come from ADQ, the Abu Dhabi-based investment and holding company.

He went on to share that the airline's management is "working hard" to prepare for a potential listing if ADQ chooses to move forward with it. This preparation involves creating a strong business plan, maintaining good profit margins, providing excellent customer service, and establishing a solid governance framework.

"It's really important for airlines to be listed because in the end, although we don't need cash in the next five to six years to deploy the $7 billion capital, one day if we decide to accelerate and to grow even more, we may need capital. And having the ability to tap into different sources of capital to finance our growth may be important in the future," he added.

Etihad Airways is on track to achieve its third consecutive year of annual profit after reporting a 48% increase in its net income for the first half of the year. This growth is driven by strong travel demand supported by a strategic expansion of the airline's network and increased flights.