Etihad Airways plans to rebuild operations around smaller twin-aisle jets once coronavirus lockdowns ease, spelling an uncertain future for the biggest models the Gulf carrier has in its fleet plan.
Etihad hasn’t set a delivery date for Boeing Co.’s coming 777X, and it’s not clear if the Airbus SE A380 superjumbo will ever return or how many A350s are needed, Chief Executive Officer Tony Douglas said in an interview Wednesday. He said the focus will instead be on the smaller Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
“The point really is to concentrate on the backbone, and the backbone for us is the 787,” Douglas said on Bloomberg Television.
The CEO’s comments underscore how far the pandemic is threatening to transform travel as airlines shift focus to shorter routes where demand is expected to recover faster, potentially at the expense of the globe-spanning super-hub model long championed by the three biggest Mideast carriers.
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