The latest new routes announcement sparks speculation.
An Etihad Airbus A321 (Photo: Airbus)
Etihad Airways recently announced plans to launch 10 additional destinations in 2025. This comes at a pivotal time when the airline is preparing to welcome its first units of Airbus A321LR aircraft into the fleet.
In late November, Etihad entertained the aviation industry with the “Its 10” marketing campaign. The goal was to raise short-term speculations about the carrier’s soon-to-be-announced destinations. After a tense weekend, the 10 new destinations were unveiled.
Starting with the cherry on top, the fifth U.S. destination for Etihad, Atlanta, was announced with the Airbus A350 in the schedule. The aircraft choice is not all that surprising considering this will be the new longest route for the carrier.
The other two routes, Taipei and Hong Kong, are planned to be operated with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Most of the routes though, seven out of 10, were announced with the new aircraft type in the schedule. This corresponds to Krabi and Chiang Mai in Thailand, Phnom Penh in Cambodia, Hanoi in Vietnam, Medan in Indonesia, Algiers in Algeria, and Tunis in Tunisia.
Earlier this year, the CEO of Etihad Airways, Antonoaldo Neves, said the carrier has 10 Airbus A321LRs on order. This will fit into the fleet puzzle of Airbus A320, Airbus A350, Boeing 787 Dreamliner, and Boeing 777 aircraft.
The aircraft in both the standard and the “LR” version, is currently in operation with other carriers. SAS specifically lists the range performance of both as 4,600 km and 7,000 km respectively. A good rule of thumb suggests that after accounting for all the safety reserves and regulations, the airlines are able to fly 80% of the listed range performance. This puts the sweet spot of using the A321LR between 3,680 km which the regular A320 cannot achieve and 5,600 km which is probably close to its limits.
The calculation proves quite accurate when overlaid with the announced routes. The brightest range is possible to be served with the regular A320 aircraft, while the slightly darker one represents the A321LR outreach. The difference between Hanoi and Hong Kong is symptomatic, with the first one announced to be served by the Airbus A321LR while the second is planned to be operated with the 787.
The difference in range capability between Airbus A320 and Airbus A321LR aircraft (Photo: gcmap.com)
Now that we know what is in the realm of possibilities, new speculations rise. The range bracket to use the Airbus A321LR presents some clear clues though.
Starting with the obvious, there is no need to send the aircraft into the neighboring regions of the Middle East, Levant or Indian Subcontinent.
The near Africa region is also currently reachable with Nairobi being one of the latest additions to Etihad’s network launched in December, served by the Airbus A320s. Aside from the just announced Algiers and Tunis, two potential candidates could be Lagos in Nigeria or Zanzibar in Tanzania. Both were previously served by Etihad.
The most potential work for the A321LR in Etihad’s network spanning around its Abu Dhabi hub lies in Europe and Southeast Asia. The latter might seem saturated already with the last announcement. Etihad might decide to expand into other niche markets like Langkawi, a secondary city in Malaysia, or Yangon which is the capital city of Myanmar.
The European expansion seems likely. Many of the key markets are within the range. The list includes France, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and Austria of the currently operated markets. There the A321LR addition could mean a second frequency like in case of Vienna or a completely new destination in the network like Berlin.
New additions could also follow in Scandinavia where the carrier is currently only present in Copenhagen, as well as to Central Europe, where the airline has recently announced a new service to Warsaw and Prague.
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