Abu Dhabi's Etihad Buys Four A380s; Deal Worth $7 Billion

Abu Dhabi's new national airline, Etihad Airways, is the latest customer for the Airbus A380. The airline will receive four of the super-jumbo airplanes as part of a $7 billion, all-Airbus deal announced here Tuesday, covering a total of 24 firm orders plus 12 options. Etihad chairman Sheikh Ahmed bin Saif al Nayhan and Airbus CEO Noel Forgeard signed a memorandum of understanding here, which should be converted into a firm order in September.

Etihad's A380s will be refurbished flight-test aircraft and will be delivered to the airline in the first half of 2007, before any other A380 delivery positions are available. The airline has also ordered 12 A330-200s, four A340-500s and four A340-600s to be delivered starting in January 2006, and the deal includes 12 options on unspecified aircraft.

"I cannot recall any other time when a startup airline barely eight months old has had the confidence, resources and ambition to order three dozen new wide-body aircraft," said Sheikh al Nahyan. Etihad started operations in November 2003 with leased A330-200s and a single A340-300. "But if you think the past eight months have been busy, that will be nothing to the coming months and years. Watch this space."

Etihad has been launched to provide a distinctive high-quality service, including a premium economy "Pearl zone" cabin with a 49-inch pitch. It plans to use the A380s on flights to Europe and Asi— "China and the UK, where we have difficulties with landing slots," says al Nahyan—while opening up nonstop services to the U.S. and Australia with the ultra-long-range A340-500. The company selected Airbus because it wanted new medium-size aircraft but did not want to wait for the 7E7, and because its maintenance partner Gamco is already set up to support Airbus types.

—Bill Sweetman