Etihad Airways committed to 34 million target despite tariff row, delivery issues, says CEO

Etihad Airways is committed to its target of 33 to 34 million passengers by 2030 despite challenges in terms of deliveries and tariff rows, its chief executive said on Monday.

“As far as tariff (row) is concerned, things are changing so quickly, and in all these situations, we actually may find opportunities. It’s early so I wouldn’t like to speculate right now and we need to let this settle. We have seen this volatility and are doing great,” Antonoaldo Neves said during a media briefing at the Arabian Travel Market 2025 in Dubai on Monday.

Etihad Airways is committed to its target of 33 to 34 million passengers by 2030 despite challenges in terms of deliveries and tariff rows, its chief executive said on Monday.

“As far as tariff (row) is concerned, things are changing so quickly, and in all these situations, we actually may find opportunities. It’s early so I wouldn’t like to speculate right now and we need to let this settle. We have seen this volatility and are doing great,” Antonoaldo Neves said during a media briefing at the Arabian Travel Market 2025 in Dubai on Monday.

Airlines across the industry have been facing delays in deliveries from aircraft manufacturers and now there are some concerns of supply chain issues as well due to tariff war between the US, China and other countries.

“Etihad is very fortunate in terms of delays. Etihad had a very old order booked. The plane we are receiving today was supposed to be delivered before Covid-19. They’re so late, so late, so late that there’s no further to that. On the widebody aircraft, we are in a very good shape. We ordered it about two years ago, and they’ve been only three to six months late. So we don’t see our growth plan impacted,” Neves said during the media briefing.

“In terms of receiving planes, of course, we are not happy about three or six-month delays, but they are not compromising at all our vision for 2030 and plan to get 33-34 million passengers by 2030. We did our homework two years ago and were really quick to make a decision. At the same time, we benefit from the low order book that we have,” he said in reply to a question.

The Abu Dhabi-based carrier recorded Dh1.7 billion profit after tax in 2024, driven by Dh20.8 billion passenger and Dh4.2 billion cargo revenues, alongside significant operational efficiency improvements.

The airline carried 18.5 million passengers last year, a 32 per cent increase from the previous year, across 80 destinations.

In 2025, it plans to carry 21 million passengers across 90-plus destinations and operate a fleet of 115 aircraft. It aims to bring in 1.3 million visitors to the UAE capital this year.

The UAE national carrier said that 2025 will be the biggest year in its history.

Currently operating a fleet of 100 aircraft, Etihad aims to grow to 170-plus aircraft by 2030. It aims to add 16 new cities including Sochi, Warsaw, Prague, Atlanta, Taipei, Peshawar, Hanoi, and Hong Kong among others.

Etihad CEO Antonoaldo Neves said that in case of weakness in one region, the other regions compensate.

“You need to understand the profile of customers. We have a lot of visiting family and relatives and that component of demand doesn’t go away, but can be impacted a little bit. In reality, our demand is strong and our network is holding well together. Last week, we had many days of 91-92 per cent load factor, which is very high for this time of the year when we don’t have breaks,” he said during the media briefing.