Etihad adds A321LRs with a first-class touch

This delivery will see the start of its entire growing fleet of wide and narrowbodies equipped with a first-class onboard product within five years, Antonoaldo Neves, CEO of Etihad told reporters at a delivery ceremony in Hamburg.

“We will offer the first true first-class flying in a narrowbody,” said Neves, who also revealed that the carrier has added a further 10 orders for the A321LR to its original deal for 20 of the type that are being leased from AerCap.

The first A321LR will enter service on August 1 between Abu Dhabi and Phuket in Thailand. The plan is for Etihad to take delivery of 10 A321LRs this year, a further 10 in 2026 with five slated for delivery in both 2027 and 2028.

Etihad’s A321LRs will feature a three-class cabin with two “First Suites” with a sliding door, 14 lie-flat business-class seats and 144 economy class seats.

Neves said Etihad, Airbus and AerCap have been working on the introduction of the A321LR for over two years. “This is not just an extra aircraft that we are receiving, it is an aircraft that is going to shape the growth of this airline in 2025 and 2026,” he said.

“[The A321LR] will strengthen our network and enable us to explore new destinations, especially in southeast Asia and Europe, that we could never serve with a widebody,” explained Neves.

Etihad is going against the grain of many network carriers that have opted to ditch first-class as business class products improve.

Neves noted that the strategy is designed to enable first-class travellers on for example its A380 service from Toronto to connect to an A321LR first-class product to Phuket: “What these aircraft bring is a seamless and consistent journey.”

“We want to have all the planes in Etihad with a first-class – that’s the target in five years,” he added.

Etihad has the ambition to reach 38 million passengers by 2030 and a fleet size of 220 aircraft, he said.

The Abu Dhabi market can deliver such growth. “Abu Dhabi is booming. The population is growing at 7%. Etihad had 10 million passengers in 2022 and right now we are at 20 million [annually],” said Neves.

“There is no lack of demand, in fact our concern right now is that we need more planes to make sure that we account for this demand,” said Neves, noting that its current orderbook sees Etihad receiving 20 aircraft a year for the next five years.”