Etihad passenger volume up as fleet and destinations rise

A growing fleet size and increased destinations have allowed Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways to expand passenger volume in the first quarter of 2025.

Passenger numbers rose 16 percent to 5 million in the January to March period, compared to 4.3 million a year ago, according to data released by the state-backed airline.

Antonoaldo Neves, CEO of Etihad Airways, said that passenger load factor was 87 percent in the first quarter of the year, up from 86 percent in the same period in 2024.

The fleet size was up 10 percent year on year to 98 aircraft in March, as passenger destinations jumped to 73 from 69 in March 2024.

Passenger volume jumped 14 percent annually to 1.6 million last month, but the passenger load factor was down to 82 percent from 84 percent in March 2024.

Neves said that passenger numbers rose to 20 million across the 12 months to the end of March 2025.

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“In the past month, we have announced two new routes and increased flight frequencies, bringing the total number of new destinations scheduled for 2025 to 16,” he said.

Last month Reuters reported that Etihad Airways will push back a planned $1 billion IPO until at least next month.

The airline, which started operations in 2003, plans to issue shares for about 20 percent of its business to fund its growth ambitions, the report said.

Etihad’s net profit more than tripled last year to $476 million, driven by $5.7 billion in passenger revenue and $1.1 billion in cargo revenue.