Etihad Airways expects the list of cross-country travel corridors to grow this summer as the pace of Covid-19 vaccinations accelerates. "While current government restrictions are a concern for the industry, vaccine and rapid testing could reduce travel restrictions and unblock the industry.", said Tony Douglas, Executive Director of Etihad Aviation Group, for The National.
'The percentage of vaccinations continues to rise in Europe, Asia, Israel and the United Arab Emirates. Thus, countries will lift travel restrictions if passengers have the vaccine administered or if they present test certificates on arrival and departure. We expect 2021 to be a very difficult year, we expect 2022 to be a year of transition and we expect 2023 to slowly return to the number of pre-Covid passengers, ”he said.
Etihad Airways abandons Airbus A380 aircraft.
"We have made the strategic decision to keep all Airbus A380 aircraft on the ground and I am sure we will no longer see the aircraft operating flights to Etihad.", he said. This decision will also mean the end of Etihad's ultra-exclusive cabin, known as "The Residence", which can only be found on Airbus A380 aircraft.
Etihad Airways, unlike Emirates, did not invest in a large fleet of Airbus A380s and operated only 10 aircraft before the pandemic. The aircraft were used to operate flights to destinations such as London (UK), New York (USA), Sydney (Australia), Paris (France) and Seoul (South Korea).
British Airways' Airbus A380 fleet, which consists of 12 aircraft, will not have the same fate as the aircraft owned by British Airways. Air France, Lufthansa, Qantas or Qatar Airways. These companies have given up operating flights with the A380 while British Airways has decided to maintain the aircraft in the fleet. However, all British Airways A380 aircraft are currently on the ground.
Etihad intends to operate as a medium-sized carrier, building its operations around aircraft with two smaller engines using Boeing 787 Dreamliner aircraft. By the end of 2020, the airline would operate 50 passenger and 7 freight routes in Abu Dhabi, representing approximately 35% of its pre-Covid capacity.