Etihad Airways expects to hire up to 3,000 employees a year to support its growth as it adds 20 aircraft to its fleet annually until 2030 and expands its network with extra routes and an increase in flights.
The Abu Dhabi-based airline last year employed 3,200 people, with about 1,600 cabin crew and almost 400 pilots joining its ranks, it said on Tuesday.
"We're going to keep that range, from 2,500 to 3,000 people hires per year, and we're going to keep getting about 20 aircraft per year, so that's more or less the ratio that we're going to be doing for the next five years," said Antonoaldo Neves, chief executive of Etihad Airways.
The airline's operating fleet expanded to 127 aircraft by the end of 2025 – the largest in its history – after it added 29 aircraft during the year. These included deliveries of the Airbus A321LR and A350 and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, as well as returning more Airbus A380 super-jumbos to the skies after pandemic-era groundings.
Backed by such fleet growth, Etihad increased its network from 94 to 110 destinations in 2025. New routes included Atlanta, Prague, Warsaw, Addis Ababa, Phnom Penh, Hanoi and Hong Kong.
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Etihad Airways announces the introduction of 10 Airbus A321LRs to its fleet from August 1. All photos: Etihad Airways -
Etihad will also introduce the first First Class suite aboard this narrow-body aircraft -
Etihad Business Class will have 14 lie-flat beds as part of its offering aboard the A321LR -
The airliner is arranged along a single aisle -
There will be 144 seats in Etihad Economy on the new A321LR airliners -
Touchscreens will be available across Economy Class -
The Etihad A321LR will be rolled out for service on a variety of destinations from August 1
Tourism growth
In line with Abu Dhabi's push to boost tourism to the UAE capital, Etihad continued to grow point-to-point and stop-over traffic to the city. Point-to-point traffic rose by 900,000 passengers to reach 5.5 million, up from 4.6 million in 2024. The airline’s stop-over programme welcomed 170,000 visitors, more than double the 80,000 recorded in 2024, it added.
"This year we're going to do more, I wouldn't be surprised if we do more than 200,000 visitors to Abu Dhabi only through the stop-over programme," Mr Neves said.
Etihad is among the top service exports in Abu Dhabi, with more than 60 per cent of its tickets sold overseas and a global cargo business that makes a "significant" contribution to the emirate's economic growth, Mr Neves added.
"As the national airline of the UAE, Etihad plays a central role in advancing Abu Dhabi’s global connectivity, tourism growth and economic diversification, supporting the emirate’s long-term ambitions," Mohammed Al Shorafa, chairman of Etihad Airways, said in a statement.
