Unprecedented: Etihad Inaugurates 4 New Routes In A Week

In a move that the airline is describing as “unprecedented”, Etihad Airways inaugurated four new destinations to four different countries last week. This marks a total of 11 new routes that have taken flight so far this year, and brings the airline’s global network to 86 destinations. Its ambitious growth plan targets a total of 125 destinations by the end of the decade.

Etihad’s growth is being fueled by increases to its fleet, which now surpasses 100 aircraft. It expects to have more than 20 new aircraft delivered in 2025, including its first examples of the Airbus A321LR. This has enabled it to embark on substantial network expansion, with 27 new destinations launched or announced this year alone. The growth is set to continue in the remainder of the year as the carrier will add eight additional routes in the next two months.

Adding Four Routes To Four Countries

Credit: Etihad

It was not long ago that Etihad was undergoing severe financial hardship. For the six-year period from 2016 to 2021, the airline lost $1.4 billion per year on average, amidst stiff competition, operational inefficiencies, and ill-fated investments in failing carriers such as Alitalia and Air Berlin. However, the carrier has restructured and bounced back. In recent months, it has reported substantial growth in passenger numbers and record profits.

This is spurring on further network expansion, and the four new routes added last week are as follows:

• Medan, Indonesia: The gateway to the island of Sumatra, this is Etihad’s third Indonesian destination after Jakarta and Bali, and is flown three-times weekly with an A321LR.
• Phnom Penh, Cambodia: The new route flies five-times weekly with A321LRs to Techo International Airport, the new airport for the Cambodian capital that began operations last month.
• Addis Ababa, Ethiopia: A daily A320 service to
  Addis Ababa Bole International Airport
  represents the formal start of a new codeshare agreement with
  Ethiopian Airlines
  .
• Krabi, Thailand: The Thai leisure destination is famous for its turquoise waters, towering cliffs, and island escapes, and will get a daily A321LR service from Abu Dhabi.

Antonoaldo Neves, CEO of Etihad, reports that the inaugural flights to all four new destinations were sold out, demonstrating a strong demand for the new routes. He said:

“This was an extraordinary week for Etihad as we bring four vibrant new cities onto our global map. We’re showing how Etihad is becoming more agile, more ambitious, and more accessible, and demonstrating how our strategic investments in modern aircraft like the A321LR are enabling us to grow quickly and efficiently.”

New A321LRs Are Driving The Growth

Credit: Etihad

The arrival of the A321LRs is opening new opportunities for Etihad to launch long-and-thin routes. The carrier has 30 A321LRs on firm order, split between 10 direct orders with Airbus and 20 to be leased from AerCap. It has previously said that it anticipates operating up to 40 of the type in the near term. The aircraft is ideal for the Gulf carrier and its hub-and-spoke network, as its 4,000 nautical mile (4,600 miles; 7,600 km) range enables it to reach all possible destinations in continental Europe as well as most of Asia and Africa as well.

Etihad’s A321LRs have just 160 seats, a light configuration that helps to increase the range of the aircraft. The aircraft are configured as follows:

• Two first-class suites: Includes a 22.5″ wide seat that converts to a fully flat bed and sliding privacy door, along with a 20″ 4K touchscreen display with Bluetooth pairing, universal AC, USB-A, and USB-C sockets plus induction charging. These seats differ from business class seats as they offer more space around the footwell, seating room for a second person, plus a sliding privacy door.
• 14 business class seats: Arranged 1:1 in a reverse-herringbone configuration, each 22.5″ wide seat has a row pitch of 38″ and converts to a fully flat bed. Seats has a 17.3″ 4K touchscreen display with Bluetooth pairing, universal AC, USB-A, and USB-C sockets plus induction charging.
• 144 economy seats: Collins Aeropace Meridan slimline seats in a 3-3 configuration, each seat features a 13.3″ 4K touchscreen display, four-way adjustable headrest, moveable armrests, and a retractable tablet holder. Seat width is 18.4″, row pitch is 30″, and seats have a 5″ recline.

Etihad now has four A321LRs in its fleet following the delivery of the first example in July. It expects to have a total of 10 by the end of the year, and expects to welcome 10 more in 2026. The airline has said that it plans to use the type almost exclusively to pioneer new routes that wouldn’t be economically feasible for its larger widebodies.

Six New Routes Coming In November

Credit: Shutterstock

Etihad’s network expansion will continue apace as a further 6 A321LRs are delivered by year-end. Next month it will inaugurate six new routes, including two new North African destinations in Tunis and Algiers, and further expansion in Southwest Asia with Chiang Mai and Hanoi joining the network.

The airline is supporting its new route roll-out with its innovative ‘Extraordinary Challenge’ promotion, which seeks to gamify the airline’s Etihad Guest loyalty program. The first 100 participants to fly to five of the airline’s new destinations will each win 25,000 miles, and the first 100 to fly to 10 new destinations will be awarded 100,000 miles. There will also be one winner of the largest prize — 5 million miles for the first to fly to 15 new destinations, which is enough miles for 500+ Economy trips with the airline.