Etihad Airways signed a letter of intent for seven Airbus A350 freighter jets as the air cargo market continues to boom.
The airline, which has a fleet of five A350-1000 passenger aircraft, made the announcement at the Singapore Airshow, European plane maker Airbus said on Wednesday.
"As our cargo operations continue to overperform and we work towards a more sustainable future built upon the world’s youngest and most fuel-efficient fleet, the addition of the A350F will play a key role in driving our long-term cargo strategy and achieving our 2035 target to reduce CO2 emissions by 50 per cent," said Tony Douglas, chief executive of Etihad Aviation Group.
The announcement comes after Mr Douglas told The National at the Dubai Airshow, in November last year, that the airline was considering two new freighter models — the Airbus A350 and Boeing's 777X — as replacements for the dedicated 777 freighters it currently operates.
Boeing and Airbus are capitalising on a surge in demand for dedicated and converted freighter aircraft after the Covid-19 pandemic grounded large wide-body passenger planes used for carrying cargo.
A survey conducted between December 2021 and January 2022 of airline chief financial officers and cargo business bosses by the International Air Transport Association shows an improvement in profitability, demand, cargo and employment in the global aviation industry, which was battered by the pandemic-induced slowdown.
Cargo has been a rare bright spot for the aviation industry since the outbreak of Covid-19 two years ago, with rates increasing amid a surge in e-commerce sales and as pandemic-related supply chain bottlenecks drive up demand for air freight services.
"Etihad clearly sees the opportunity to extend its cargo activity by acquiring state-of-the-art aircraft, combining significant capacity and operational efficiency," said aviation consultant John Strickland.
"Cargo had been the saviour for many normally passenger-focused airlines during the pandemic and demand is likely to stay resilient as supply chain bottlenecks continue and demand for e-commerce grows," he added.
Etihad, which currently operates the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and will introduce the Airbus A350 passenger jet to its fleet, said in November that the belly-holds of both aircraft will play a significant role in its cargo operations.
"The Dreamliner and the A350 are going to be massive in terms of our cargo," Mr Douglas said at the time.
The A350F provides a high level of commonality with the A350 passenger versions, Airbus said on Wednesday, adding that with a 109-tonne payload capability, the freighter can serve all cargo markets.
Airbus's new cargo plane will be powered by fuel-efficient Rolls-Royce Trent XWB-97 engines, it said.
“The world’s only new generation large freighter will be unmatched in its market segment in terms of range, fuel consumption and CO2 savings,” said Christian Scherer, chief commercial officer and head of International at Airbus.
More than 70 per cent of the A350F airframe is made of advanced materials, resulting in a 30-tonne lighter take-off weight and generating at least 20 per cent lower fuel consumption and emissions over its current closest competitor, the European plane maker said.
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
UAE tour of the Netherlands
UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures:
Monday, 1st 50-over match
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
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The specs
Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: nine-speed
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh848,000
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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
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*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
Poacher
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What are the influencer academy modules?
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if you go
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Brief scores:
Toss: Rajputs, elected to field first
Sindhis 94-6 (10 ov)
Watson 42; Munaf 3-20
Rajputs 96-0 (4 ov)
Shahzad 74 not out
Day 1, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Dimuth Karunaratne had batted with plenty of pluck, and no little skill, in getting to within seven runs of a first-day century. Then, while he ran what he thought was a comfortable single to mid-on, his batting partner Dinesh Chandimal opted to stay at home. The opener was run out by the length of the pitch.
Stat of the day – 1 One six was hit on Day 1. The boundary was only breached 18 times in total over the course of the 90 overs. When it did arrive, the lone six was a thing of beauty, as Niroshan Dickwella effortlessly clipped Mohammed Amir over the square-leg boundary.
The verdict Three wickets down at lunch, on a featherbed wicket having won the toss, and Sri Lanka’s fragile confidence must have been waning. Then Karunaratne and Chandimal's alliance of precisely 100 gave them a foothold in the match. Dickwella’s free-spirited strokeplay meant the Sri Lankans were handily placed at 227-4 at the close.
The Lowdown
Kesari
Rating: 2.5/5 stars
Produced by: Dharma Productions, Azure Entertainment
Directed by: Anubhav Singh
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Parineeti Chopra
Mica
Director: Ismael Ferroukhi
Stars: Zakaria Inan, Sabrina Ouazani
3 stars
