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Etihad Airways to invest billions as it prepares for IPO

By Eva Levesque
Antonoaldo Neves, CEO of Etihad, said it is important that the airline has the capital to finance future growth Etihad
Antonoaldo Neves, CEO of Etihad, said listing could be helpful to ensure the airline has additional capital to finance future growth
  • Listing is important, says CEO
  • Investments part of growth strategy
  • Fleet size to double by 2030

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, is planning to invest $7 billion over the next five years and to double the size of its fleet by 2030 as it prepares to go public, its chief executive said.

Antonoaldo Neves told a conference in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday that the investment is part of the airline’s growth strategy and transformation while it prepares for a listing on the local stock market.

“It is important for an airline to be listed,” Neves said. “Although we don’t need cash – in the next five or six years we should have $27 billion capital – if we decide to accelerate, having the possibility to tap into different sources of capital to finance our growth may be important.”

Based in Abu Dhabi, Etihad is owned by the Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company (ADQ), a sovereign wealth fund, and the Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company, which also owns other aviation entities like Abu Dhabi Airports and Wizz Air Abu Dhabi.

In March there was speculation about the airline’s possible initial public offering this year or next.

While Neves did not confirm the date for a potential IPO, he said that Etihad is “working hard on its readiness to be listed” when its “shareholder ADQ decides to”.

To adapt to the changing market dynamics “in a highly competitive region”, Neves said that the company is working on its expansion and is improving transparency, governance and its balance sheet.

To improve its profitability, the airline is focusing on increasing margins, operational efficiency and customer experience while “stretching its network” and modernising and expanding the fleet, he said.

“We will bring back the A380 and the Boeing 777,” Neves said, adding that the retrofitting of the 777 is planned for 2026.

By the end of the decade it plans to increase the number of planes from 92 to 170 and launch eight to 10 destinations a year.

The airline reported on September 17 it had carried 17 million passengers in the 12 months up to the end of August 2024, almost 70 percent higher than the full year 2022.

According to Neves, Etihad is growing about 35 percent to 40 percent year-on-year.

“By 2026-2027 you will see a totally different airline,” he said.

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