Etihad will deploy an A350 on its new route to Atlanta.
Etihad Airways has unveiled 10 new network points to be added in 2025, including Atlanta, Hong Kong and Taipei.
The Abu Dhabi-based carrier said the expansion was driven by a desire to both increase connectivity from its Zayed International Airport (AUH) hub and draw more visitors to the United Arab Emirates.
Seven of the 10 new routes will be flown with the Airbus A321LR, which the carrier will begin taking delivery next year. Arik De, Etihad Airways' chief revenue and commercial officer, told delegates at the recent Routes World in Bahrain that the narrowbody A321LR will unlock new destinations that would not be viable to serve with widebody aircraft such as the Boeing 787 and Airbus A350.
The carrier will use an A350 to operate between AUH and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL), the world’s busiest passenger airport. The AUH-ATL route will kick off July 5, 2025, and be flown 4X-weekly.
From Sept. 7, Etihad will open daily service between AUH and Taipei using a Boeing 787. Beginning Oct. 2, the airline will start 3X-weekly A321LR flights between AUH and Medan, Indonesia.
From Oct. 3, flights between AUH and Phnom Penh, Cambodia, will launch. That route will be flown 5X-weekly with an A321LR. Starting Oct. 9, Etihad will commence daily service between AUH and Krabi, Thailand, using an A321LR.
From Nov. 1, the airline will add service between AUH and Tunis, Tunisia, flying the route 3X-weekly with an A321LR. Beginning Nov. 3, Etihad will operate between AUH and Chiang Mai, Thailand, flying the route 4X-weekly with an A321LR. Also on that date, daily flights between AUH and Hanoi, Vietnam, will commence using an A321LR.
Also on Nov. 3, the carrier will open service between AUH and Hong Kong, flying the route 5X-weekly with a 787. Finally, Etihad will launch 4X-weekly flights on Nov. 7 between AUH and Algiers, Algeria, using an A321LR .
The airline had previously announced it will add Al Alamein, Egypt; Prague, Czech Republic; and Warsaw, Poland to its network in 2025. Those routes will be added in June and July of 2025, with Al Alamein served 2X-weekly and the two Eastern European destinations each served 4X-weekly.
De said another slew of new routes will be announced in early 2025 as the airline moves to create an “omni-directional” network taking advantage of AUH’s location.
The airline had 73 aircraft in its fleet at the end of 2023 and plans to end this year with 96 aircraft. The fleet is expected to grow to more than 110 aircraft in 2025, according to CEO Antonoaldo Neves. He said in a statement that the airline expects to carry 20 million passengers in 2025, which he defined as a “pivotal year for Etihad.”
Etihad carried 13.6 million passengers for the nine months ended Sept. 30, 2024, up 35% year-over-year. For the 12 months ended Sept. 30, Etihad carried 17.5 million passengers, which the airline noted is 75% above the 10 million carried in the 12 months ended September 2022, an indication of the airline’s rebound over the past two years post-COVID.
ATL will be the fifth U.S. destination served by Etihad, which currently serves Boston Logan, Chicago O’Hare, New York John F. Kennedy and Washington Dulles.
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