ABU DHABI- The second flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Etihad Airways (EY) has taken the delivery of the first Airbus A321neo on May 16, 2024.
This is the first of 6 aircraft earlier flown by Bamboo Airways (QH) and was stored in Abu Dhabi since April 21.
Etihad First A321neo Delivery
According to Planespotters.net, Etihad Airways’ first Airbus A321neo is registered as A6-AES and is around 2 years and 9 months old.
The Abu Dhabi-based carrier has deployed the aircraft on the Abu Dhabi (AUH)-Cairo (CAI) route from May 16.
These planes are taken on lease from American-Irish aviation leasing company, AerCap and Tokyo Century company-owned Aviation Capital Group (ACG).
Three A321neo will be completely inducted into the fleet by June 2024 and the remaining three by October 2024.
The A321neo destinations include Amman, Bahrain, Cairo, Doha, Bangalore, Mumbai, Muscat, and Delhi.
The A321neo will begin operating on the Abu Dhabi-Bangalore and Abu Dhabi-Delhi routes in June. Additionally, the frequency of flights on the Abu Dhabi-Bangalore route will be increased.
Different Seat Configurations
The aircraft comes in three different configurations. The first set includes three aircraft with 198 seats each, featuring 16 business class seats and 182 economy seats.
The second configuration includes one aircraft with 208 seats, consisting of 8 business class seats and 200 economy seats.
Lastly, there are two aircraft with 223 seats each, offering 8 business class seats and 215 economy seats.
What happened to the A321neo Order?
Etihad had 26 CFM International’s advanced LEAP-1A engine-powered Airbus A321neo aircraft on order, initially intended for its joint venture, Air Arabia Abu Dhabi (3L). They were expected to be delivered in 2018 but were deferred.
However, with Tony Douglas’s departure to head a startup airline, Riyadh Air (RX), these 2013 orders remain deferred as Etihad evaluates the future of its short-haul operations.
The CFM LEAP-1B engine order is valued at USD 2.8 billion at the list price and includes a long-term services agreement.
CFM International is a 50/50 joint venture between Snecma (Safran) and GE and is the world’s leading supplier of commercial aircraft engines.
Planned in November 2023
In November 2023, the Etihad fleet management team planned to induct A321neos and they were looking at the secondary market as Airbus delivery slots were full.
Marcos Masclans, SM Aircraft Specifications & EIS, who oversee future aircraft developments, specifications, and cabin products at Etihad revealed on LinkedIn that,
“Back in November 2023, we stepped into the boardroom. It was just another Monday meeting, like many others…
However, this one brought us an enormous challenge: We would start operations of a new fleet type in just 7 months, just by May 2024.
After surviving the first impact, we all together committed to our first A321NX aircraft with CFM LEAP engines, following the growth vision of our leadership and taking advantage of any opportunity the market could bring to us.
The path has been intense, no doubt, and we just reached our first milestone… but we can firmly say we are on the way.”
To conclude, Etihad might test these leased A321neo and optimize their future orders with Airbus. They have not canceled A321neo orders yet and might take delivery of these planes soon.
We hope to see these beautiful birds with Racoon masks over Indian skies soon.
Stay tuned with us. Further, follow us on social media for the latest updates.
Join us on Telegram Group for the Latest Aviation Updates. Subsequently, follow us on Google News.
