Etihad Airways' Boeing wide-bodies deal to lift its 2030 plan to double the fleet

Etihad Airways on Friday confirmed its order for 28 Boeing wide-body aircraft with GE engines, a move that underlines accelerating momentum in its plan to double its fleet by 2030.

The $14.5 billion commitment between Boeing, GE Aerospace and Etihad was signed during US President Donald Trump's visit to Abu Dhabi on Thursday.

Deliveries of the Boeing 787 and 777X jets are expected to start in 2028, a statement from the Abu Dhabi-based airline said on Friday.

The deal reflects "Etihad’s ongoing approach to aligning its fleet with evolving network and operational needs," it said. Boeing did not immediately comment on the deal.

“This commitment reflects our approach of carefully managing our fleet and expanding in line with demand and our long-term network plans,” said Antonoaldo Neves, Etihad's chief executive. “Since 2023, we’ve made consistent additions to our fleet and this latest step ensures we continue to meet our future requirements.”

Etihad has outlined plans for its so-called Journey 2030, a seven-year growth agenda announced in November 2023 when it marked its 20th anniversary. The strategy calls for doubling its fleet to 170 planes and tripling the number of passengers its carries annually to 33 million as it expands its global route network.

"Etihad is currently finalising a detailed plan that will shape the airline’s strategy through to 2035," it said in Friday's statement, without providing further details.

The airline currently uses 99 planes and flies to 72 destinations as of last month, according to its latest available data. The fleet is a mix of Boeing 787s and 777 wide-bodies, as well as Airbus A380s, A350s, A320s, A321s and the newly announced long-range narrow-body A321LR.

The new deal expands Etihad's orderbook that includes a deal made in November 2013 for Boeing 777X jets, which has been delayed until 2026 by the US plane maker.

Etihad Airways will invest nearly $1 billion to retrofit its older Boeing 777 and 787 Dreamliners as it awaits delivery of new planes.

Mr Neves said the airline will take delivery of 20 to 22 new aircraft this year. It plans on opening 16 new destinations in 2025 alone, he said.

Etihad, compared to its older and bigger neighbours Emirates and Qatar Airways, operates a smaller fleet. Dubai-based Emirates, which operates the world’s largest fleet of Boeing 777 and Airbus A380 aircraft, had 260 planes in its fleet as of March 31. Its orderbook has 314 aircraft pending delivery, including 61 of the A350s, 205 Boeing 777x, 35 of the 787s and 13 of the 777Fs.

In a separate statement on Friday Etihad Airways said it will start non-stop flights to Charlotte, North Carolina, starting May 2026, becoming the first airline in the region to connect to the American city.

Charlotte becomes Etihad’s sixth destination in the US, joining New York, Chicago, Washington, Boston, and Atlanta, which launches July 2. The route will operate four times per week on Etihad’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

“A thriving centre for finance, technology, motorsport and culture, Charlotte is home to major US corporations and attracts millions of visitors annually for both business and leisure,” the airline said.

Boeing gains momentum with record Gulf deal

The Etihad announcement is the latest in a string of deals that Boeing secured during Mr Trump's visit to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and UAE this week.

The US plane maker had its moment in the sun during the Gulf visit, backed by major endorsements from the US President, as it scored the biggest plane order in its history.

Boeing chief executive Kelly Ortberg signed a deal with Qatar Airways for up to 210 wide-body planes, a mix of 787 Dreamliner and the larger 777X model with GE engines, at the Qatari Royal Court.

Besides the Etihad Airways order in Abu Dhabi, it also signed a smaller $4.8 billion deal with Saudi Arabian plane lessor AviLease for 30 of its 737-8s.

This offered much-welcome relief for the company a year after it survived a major management shake-up and a prolonged safety and quality crisis that spurred its restructuring efforts.

Since his appointment last August, Mr Ortberg has tackled a workers' strike, redressed the company’s balance sheet with a new financing round, and outlined a pathway to increase output of Boeing's best-selling 737 Max narrow-body and the 787 Dreamliner.

The Gulf deals have handed Boeing much-needed momentum, as its delivery rate is starting to improve.

Mr Trump's trade negotiations with some of its partners and "increased buyer comfort" that previous manufacturing issues are resolved means Boeing orders "could pop", Bloomberg analysts say.

"US trade negotiations may spur more orders for the country's largest exporter, while regular customers book on increased confidence that manufacturing problems are behind it," said George Ferguson, Bloomberg Intelligence's senior aerospace analyst.

Overall, the US on Thursday announced major commercial investments with the UAE worth $200 billion during Mr Trump's state visit to the UAE, which marks the last leg of his Gulf tour.