Etihad Airways and Cathay Pacific have both discussed upcoming aircraft orders as leaders from the aviation world gather in Rio de Janeiro for the International Air Transport Association (IATA) general meeting.
On June 7, 2026, the CEO of Etihad Airways, Antonoaldo Neves, spoke with reporters where he indicated the airline is in the process of buying widebody aircraft “in the double digits”.
“We’re ordering planes right now to be delivered between 2028 and 2032 and we’re getting position of airlines that are giving up,” Neves said, according to Bloomberg.
The CEO also said he expects an 8% increase in flights from a year ago by mid-June. This comes as many rival carriers are cutting services due to the Middle East conflict.
“The biggest cost we have is an empty plane. So, the way I cut cost is I don’t have empty planes,” Neves told Reuters.
Cathay Pacific CEO Robert Lam also used the IATA meetup to talk about aircraft orders. According to Reuters, the airline is weighing up widebody, narrowbody and freighter aircraft orders.
This could include both exercising options from previous purchases and completely new orders.
“There will be more orders for sure […] The next 10 years is a golden opportunity for Cathay Group’s expansion,” Lam said, according to CNA.
According to ch-aviation data, Cathay is currently waiting for deliveries from both Airbus and Boeing. The Airbus order includes nearly 40 A350s and from Boeing 35 777-9s.
The IATA general meeting runs from June 6 to June 8, 2026.
