Etihad to be top Dreamliner operator

Etihad Airways, Abu Dhabi’s state-backed airline, has ordered 10 Boeing 787-9s valued at $2.3bn at list prices in a deal that will make it the largest operator of the Dreamliner. The UAE flag carrier also ordered two freighter versions of the 777 model for its cargo operations, taking the value of the deal at list prices to $2.8bn. Etihad’s total stock of Dreamliners is currently 41, due for delivery in 2014 through to 2019. It also has options and purchase rights for a further 25 787s. The order “reflects our confidence in the 787’s ability to have a significant impact on our operating efficiencies,” said CEO James Hogan.   Etihad said the fuel-efficient Dreamliner will initially be used on routes to Dublin, Frankfurt, Kuala Lumpur, Beijing and Nagoya, Delhi and Istanbul. Gulf airlines have continued to grow their fleets despite concerns of a global slowdown as they look to gain marketshare from rival European and Asian airlines. Dubai carrier Emirates Airline signed a $18bn deal with Boeing for the 777 aircraft in November, marking the airline’s largest civil jet order to date. The biggest international airline also has options for an additional 20 777s valued at $8bn. Qatar Airways also announced it would add five Airbus A380 superjumbos and 50 A320neos to its order book in a $6.5bn deal with Airbus. Etihad signed the largest commercial order in aviation history at the 2009 Farnborough air show, spanning 100 aircraft with an estimated value of more than $20bn. Gulf carriers’ exponential growth has unnerved older airlines and fuelled mutual accusations of protectionism. The secretary general of the Association of European Airlines, Ulrich Schulte-Strathaus, in February claimed Gulf carriers were run as part of a national strategy and were a threat to the global aviation industry. Etihad in July reported a 28 percent rise in revenue to $1.72bn for the first half of 2011, putting it on target to generate its first net profit in 2012. Despite soaring oil prices and the political unrest in the region, the national carrier of the UAE said it had reduced costs per available seat by two percent. The Abu Dhabi-based carrier is now on target to breakeven in 2011 and to generate its first net profit in 2012. “We are determined to build a schedule which increases customer choice and attracts local point-to-point traffic in line with the Abu Dhabi 2030 plan,” said Hogan.