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Etihad’s A380 might not return to service

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The coronavirus pandemic has wreaked havoc for four-engine jets like the Boeing 747 and Airbus A380. Airlines are now looking towards new-age jets like the Airbus A350 and Boeing 787 for the future of their businesses. On the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March of 2020, Etihad put its 10 Airbus A380s in storage at Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH/OMAA), four of which were shifted to Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrenees Airport (LDE/LFBT) later.

The aircraft was supposed to return to service by the end of this year. However, a statement by Etihad Group’s CEO, Tony Douglas, said, “We have now taken the strategic decision to park the A380s, I’m sure it’s very likely that we won’t see them operating with Etihad again.” This statement echoes a similar sentiment to rivals like Lufthansa, Air France, and Qatar Airways, all of whom have either completely retired the A380 from their fleet or have placed the aircraft type in long-term storage.

Etihad Airways Airbus A380
Etihad Airways Airbus A380 registered A6-APH. Photo by Andrew Pries | AeroNewsX.

Etihad also has the Airbus A350 and Boeing 777X on order, new aircraft types for the airline which they expect will boost their performance efficiency and help enhance their growth. But, to focus their operations currently on the Boeing 787s, the new types will not be introduced into the Etihad fleet until 2023.

“When you’re in a street fight with Covid, it’s almost irrelevant, because the deliveries are way out in the future anyway. The trick to this one is to focus on 2021-2022 … that journey is a 787 Dreamliner journey,” said Douglas.

In other news from the airline, the airline has reported an operating loss of $1.7 billion and reported a drop of 76% in their passengers carried in 2020 from 2019. They flew 4.2 million passengers in the year, 80% of whom were flown prior to the pandemic until March.

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Source: https://aeronewsx.com/the-etihad-a380-might-not-return-to-service/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=the-etihad-a380-might-not-return-to-service

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