ABU DHABI, 11 September 2004 — Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), announced yesterday it is to buy five Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft for $1.09 billion. A joint statement said “the two companies expect to finalize the transaction in the near future.”
The planes would be delivered next year, with the first scheduled for October followed by another two in November and December.
“The new airplane’s capacity and range will facilitate the airline’s expansion to new routes in Asia, Africa, Europe and North America,” said the statement.
Etihad, which is targeting 16 destinations by the end of the year, already flies to London, Bangkok, Amman, Beirut, Colombo and Damascus, among other routes.
Launched last November, the airline currently operates two wide-bodied Airbus A330-200 passenger jets as well as an A340-200. It plans to have 10 wide-bodied aircraft in the fleet by the end of 2005.
Etihad last month ordered 24 Airbus aircraft, including four of the superjumbo A380 models, four A340-600s and four A340-500s, and has taken an option on 12 additional planes for a total value of $7 billion.
The 500-million-dirham ($136 million) capitalized airline is fully owned by the oil-rich government of Abu Dhabi, the largest of seven emirates making up the UAE federation.
