Etihad Airways is celebrating the arrival of three new Boeing 787-9 aircraft this weekend. The national airline of the UAE welcomed the latest additions to its expanding fleet at Abu Dhabi Zayed International Airport.

The new aircraft will begin operations this month, helping Etihad to expand in line with its ambitious roadmap which will see it fly to 125 destinations with more than 160 aircraft by 2030.

Antonoaldo Neves, Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Airways, said, “We are thrilled to welcome these brand-new, state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliners to Abu Dhabi. Their arrival is key to our network expansion strategy and comes at the perfect time as we continue to add multiple new destinations and expand frequencies into key markets.

“These new aircraft support our commitment to Abu Dhabi, allowing us to bring more guests to experience the incredible capital of the UAE, either as their end destination or on a stopover when connecting across our expanding network.”

The 787-9s will further bolster Etihad’s fleet as it launches additional destinations over the coming months. Etihad will begin flying to Boston, its fourth US gateway, on 31st March, and will add Nairobi and Bali to the network as well as summer routes to Nice, Malaga, Mykonos and Santorini.

Boeing’s 787 Dreamliners are up to 25 percent more fuel efficient than many comparable aircraft of their size. In total, Etihad now operates 43 Dreamliners and a total fleet of 88 aircraft including the Airbus A380, A350, A320 family, and Boeing 777.

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has published its preliminary traffic statistics for January 2024. The carrier welcomed more than 1.4 million guests onboard and saw its load factor average out at 86.04 per cent across the month.