| Carriers - Etihad Airways buys more freighters |
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Etihad Airways has ordered two more A330-200 freighters in a deal worth US$423 million, the Abu Dhabi carrier said yesterday, adding that the move was aimed at doubling the size of its Airbus fleet. Operating a cargo fleet of seven freighters at present, Etihad also has two B777 freighters on order. President and CEO James Hogan said in a statement: “We are strongly committed to building our presence in the cargo sector with Abu Dhabi as our hub to connect global trade lanes.” Etihad Airways, a launch customer for the Airbus 330-200F, operates the freighters on routes to Addis Ababa, Almaty, Beijing, Arbil, Frankfurt-Hahn, Hong Kong, Johannesburg, Milan and Nairobi. The latest order is aimed at boosting cargo traffic in the UAE capital, which achieved a 10% in 2011 over the previous year, to 481,500 tonnes, the Abu Dhabi Airports Company said recently. Etihad Airways has been expanding its fleet in line with an aggressive route expansion strategy; last month, it announced orders for 10 B787-9 Dreamliners valued at $2.3 billion. The UAE flag-carrier yesterday also launched a reciprocal code-share agreement with Air Seychelles. The news followed Wednesday’s announcement that Etihad was to buy a 40% stake in the national carrier of the Seychelles. Source: IFW, Feb 03, 2012 |
