Etihad cuts Airbus A350-1000 order

Etihad, the Abu Dhabi government-owned airline, said it reduced orders of Airbus A350-1000 aircraft to 19 planes from 25 while retaining options to buy more of the wide-body jets. “Etihad Airways has a great deal of confidence in the A350 XWB program and we are delighted we have been able to retain attractive delivery positions for the -1000 derivative,” the company said in an emailed statement today. “While we will be reducing our firm orders, our 25 options and purchase rights for this fleet remain in place and will no doubt play a crucial role in the airline’s growth.” Airbus’ latest order table dated Jan 17 showed Etihad had 19 A350 planes remaining on order. Etihad has options for 25 more, the carrier said. The A350-1000 is part of the A350 XWB program of twin-engine jetliners that Airbus is developing and is the longest in the family. Airbus is set to introduce in 2017 the A350 wide-body airliner, its answer to Boeing Co.’s 777 planes. The French planemaker had originally promised the largest variant of the double-aisle A350-1000 for 2014 only to later delay its arrival by three years. It has twice delayed the introduction of the first A350-900, a smaller version, now set to enter operation from the first half of 2014 instead of July 2013.