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 that’s a pretty lofty goal.
For the past several days, Etihad has been hinting that it would announce 10 new routes in a single day, its biggest expansion ever. After a fun teaser video a few days ago, the airline has today revealed the details of the expansion.
Details of Etihad’s 10 new routes launching in 2025
Etihad Airways has announced plans to add 10 new routes. Prior to this, Etihad sold tickets to 83 destinations, so with these routes being put on sale, that number will increase to 93 destinations. This complements three new destinations that were already announced for 2025, including Al Alamein (DBB), Prague (PRG), and Warsaw (WAW).
Here are the 10 new destinations that will be served out of Abu Dhabi (AUH), including the launch dates, frequencies, and aircraft types:
- Atlanta, United States (ATL), 4x weekly as of July 2, 2025, using an Airbus A350-1000
- Taipei, Taiwan (TPE), daily as of September 7, 2025, using a Boeing 787-9
- Medan, Indonesia (KNO), 3x weekly as of October 2, 2025, using an Airbus A321LR
- Phnom Penh, Cambodia (PNH), 5x weekly as of October 3, 2025, using an Airbus A321LR
- Krabi, Thailand (KBV), daily as of October 9, 2025, using an Airbus A321LR
- Tunis, Tunisia (TUN), 3x weekly as of November 1, 2025, using an Airbus A321LR
- Chiang Mai, Thailand (CNX), 4x weekly as of November 3, 2025, using an Airbus A321LR
- Hanoi, Vietnam (HAN), daily as of November 3, 2025, using an Airbus A321LR
- Hong Kong (HKG), 5x weekly as of November 5, 2025, using a Boeing 787-9
- Algiers, Algeria (ALG), 4x weekly as of November 7, 2025, using an Airbus A321LR
Here’s how Etihad CEO Antonoaldo Neves describes this development:
“This expansion reflects our commitment to listening to our valued guests. We’ve carefully chosen cities that embody the experiences, adventures, and opportunities that matter to them. Whether seeking inspiring landscapes, vibrant cultural experiences, reuniting with family and friends, pursuing business growth, or educational journeys, our new routes will help make their travel dreams a reality.
“This moment is not just about expanding our network; it’s about sharing Abu Dhabi with the world. With its endless sunshine, diverse cuisine, rich culture, exhilarating family theme parks, and safe, beautiful beaches, Abu Dhabi offers something for everyone. Our expanded network will make it easier than ever for guests to experience everything our home city has to offer.
“Launching ten new destinations in a single day underscores our unwavering commitment to growing our airline with a fantastic route network and world-class, customer-focused service. This incredible milestone would not have been possible without the extraordinary efforts of our team and the ongoing support of our guests.”
Keep in mind that this is only the start of Etihad’s rapid expansion. The expectation is that in early 2025, the airline will announce service to another 20 destinations, meaning Etihad will add flights to around 30 new cities in a pretty short period of time. With this, Etihad expects that at some point in 2025, it’ll be bigger than it was in 2017 (after shrinking massively).
My take on Etihad’s big expansion announcement
I find Etihad’s expansion to be very interesting. It’s sort of predictable given Etihad’s fleet planning, though also differs greatly from what Gulf rivals are doing.
The Hong Kong and Taipei additions seem logical enough, and those will be flown by 787s, so I don’t have much to add there.
I am fascinating by Etihad making Atlanta its next destination in the United States, since that’s a Delta hub. Yes, Atlanta is a big market in and of itself, but I’ve long said that Delta and Etihad would benefit from a partnership, so I can’t help but wonder if there’s an imminent announcement there. I just have a hard time imagining the airline would otherwise independently end up in Atlanta, given how much smaller its North America network is than those of competitors.
As you can see, the rest of Etihad’s growth is entirely dependent on the carrier’s new Airbus A321LRs, which Etihad should start taking delivery of soon. I’ve gotta say, this jet is a really great strategic advantage for Etihad, as the plane will have a long range and flat beds in business class:
- Emirates only has wide body aircraft, greatly limiting the airports it can fly to; while the airline has a partnership with FlyDubai (which has 737s), it’s not exactly a seamless integration
- Qatar Airways also has narrow body planes, but the airline doesn’t have many latest generation ones, and they mostly don’t have flat beds; so the airline can’t easily use these interchangeably with wide body aircraft on longer routes
Etihad executives have been saying all along that the A321LR will largely be used to expand to secondary markets in Asia and Europe, and that’s exactly what we’re seeing (well, along with markets in Africa). Etihad better hope that these planes are all delivered on schedule, or there will be some issues.
Etihad tricked us with its teaser video!
With the new routes now being announced, I have to mention how Etihad clearly tried to throw us off with its teaser video about the route announcement. On Friday, the airline released a roughly 50-second clip, which reportedly contained 10 clues about the carrier’s 10 new destinations.
However, the airline totally threw us off. While some clues ended up being accurate, like for Hong Kong, Taipei, and Tunis, others seemed downright deceiving. There were also clues for Hamburg, Helsinki, Philadelphia, Stockholm, and more, but those didn’t materialize.
Are those routes just going to be announced at a later time, or what? I love these kinds of teaser videos, but it’s really odd for the airline to provide obvious clues, but for the routes to then not materialize.
Bottom line
Etihad has just announced 10 new routes, which will all launch in 2025, and bring the carrier’s network to 93 destinations. This is a very cool expansion, with new A350 flights to Atlanta, 787 flights to Hong Kong and Taipei, and then A321LR flights to a variety of destinations.
It’s cool to see how Etihad is using the A321LR — the airline will actually use it for medium haul routes that might not have enough demand for a wide body, but where an efficient narrow body does the trick. I’m looking forward to seeing how that strategy progresses as the airline takes delivery of more of these.
What do you make of Etihad’s 10 new routes?
Membership is free and takes no more information than commenting as a guest. Earn status points for good contributions, and see fewer ads as your status grows.