Etihad To Launch 30+ New Routes Soon, In Massive Expansion

We know that Etihad Airways is looking at expanding significantly, as part of the carrier’s Journey 2030 plan. By the start of the next decade, the airline hopes to nearly double its fleet and number of destinations, so it’s a pretty lofty goal. What’s a bit surprising to me is how much of this growth is reportedly imminent.

Etihad announcing 30+ new routes by early 2025

Etihad’s Chief Revenue and Commercial Officer has gone on the record in recent days, revealing that the airline will shortly be announcing many new routes. As reported by Aviation Week:

“The date to watch out for is November 25, when we will announce 11 new cities. And then, next year, around January or February, we’re going to announce 20 more cities. So we have a lot of growth coming. We are growing at 40% each year. We will be bigger than 2017 at some point next year.”

That’s right, Etihad plans to announce 11 new cities on November 25, 2024, and then plans to announce 20 more cities in early 2025. Etihad currently serves just over 75 destinations, so adding over 30 new destinations represents a 40% growth in the number of destinations in a short timeframe.

I’m curious how exactly Etihad will fuel this expansion. Will all the routes announced actually be launched within a year, or will the airline just announce certain destinations that it intends to serve a few years down the road?

Yes, the Abu Dhabi-based carrier has lots of planes on order, but there are constraints right now when it comes to aircraft deliveries, so it seems unlikely that the airline would be able to add this number of routes, without cutting some existing frequencies on other routes.

Etihad is expected to take delivery of its first Airbus A321LR in 2025, which is an exciting addition to the fleet, as it will be the carrier’s first narrow body aircraft with flat beds. However, those will join the company’s fleet gradually. Up until now, Etihad has only used narrow body aircraft for regional routes. As the same Etihad executive explains:

“Expect a lot of destinations—secondary cities in Europe and Asia that are going to come into play. We will be the only airline in the region to have that integrated fleet that allows us to go from wide body capacity to LR capacity, offering the same product.”

Etihad will add surprising route to the US

Can we expect any of these upcoming routes to be to the United States? Edward Russell notes how Etihad’s Chief Revenue and Commercial Officer stated that we’re “going to hear at least one new US destination very, very soon.”

When asked if it was one of the three cities that Etihad has cut in recent years but hasn’t returned to, he didn’t comment, but said that the planned destination is “not a usual suspect.” That suggests to me that it’s unlikely the airline will resume service to Dallas (DFW), Los Angeles (LAX), or San Francisco (SFO).

For context, Etihad’s current US destinations include Boston (BOS), Chicago (ORD), New York (JFK), and Washington (IAD). That Boston service is a recent addition. So this seems like a fun guessing game. Assuming we’re not being intentionally thrown off here, where could the airline be considering?

I’ve heard El Paso (ELP) is really hot right now, so maybe it could be that? 😉 In all honesty, I’m trying to think what’s “not a usual suspect,” but which could still make sense, given the carrier’s limited footprint in the United States? Let’s keep in mind that Etihad primarily partners with American and JetBlue in the US.

The way I view it, there are a few directions this could go:

• South Florida has both Miami (MIA) and Fort Lauderdale (FLL), which are American and JetBlue hubs, respectively; Miami is served by both Emirates and Qatar Airways, while Fort Lauderdale might be more of a wild card
• Atlanta (ATL) is the busiest airport in the world, but that would only happen if Delta and Etihad had a partnership (which I think makes sense, even though Delta and Riyadh Air are planning a close alliance)
• Seattle (SEA) has seen a huge amount of expansion, but that also seems like an airport you’d expect, given that it’s also served by Emirates and Qatar Airways
• Philadelphia (PHL) can’t be ruled out, given its proximity to many big markets, it being an American hub, and it not having any service from a Gulf carrier
• Charlotte (CLT) doesn’t have any service from a Gulf carrier, and Etihad does partner with American, but the partnership isn’t that close, so I am skeptical…

Bottom line

Etihad plans to announce 11 new routes on November 25, 2024, and then announce 20 more new routes in early 2025. This is a huge expansion, and would boost the carrier’s number of destinations by around 40%. I’m really curious about the details here, both in terms of how the airline will make this growth happen, and also what the destinations will be.

What are you expecting from Etihad’s upcoming growth? And anyone want to guess the potential US destination?