Etihad Airways, the Abu Dhabi-based Airline, is planning to add 15 more planes to its fleet in 2025. As a result, the airline is looking to hire up to 2,000 pilots, cabin crew, and mechanics this year to prepare for the expansion. Etihad aims to boost the number of flights, frequencies, and destinations to capitalize on the positive momentum seen in passenger traffic last year. In 2023, the Airline’s passenger load factor rose to 86%, up from 82% in 2022.
Antonoaldo Neves, CEO of Etihad Airways, is optimistic about tripling the passenger number from 10 million in 2022 to more than 30 million by 2030. He hopes to deliver new planes on time, but he pointed out that the lack of planes in the market is a problem that is making the load factors very high.
Etihad is also looking to increase the number of Emirati pilots in the airline. The airline is focusing on developing Emirati talents with specialized development programs, cadet pilot, and technical engineering training. The CEO hopes to see more Emirati pilots join the airline in the coming years and aim to have at least one-third of the pilots being Emiratis.
