20 November 2007

Abu Dhabi: Etihad Airways chief executive officer James Hogan said on Monday the UAE national airline will not cancel its order for two A340-600s because of an accident on November 15 involving an aircraft at Airbus headquarters in Toulouse, southern France.

An A340-600, which was set for delivery to Etihad, ploughed into a wall during ground testing, injuring 10 people.

It sustained significant airframe damage. The plane would have been used on long-haul flights to destinations including New York and Sydney.

"The accident is under investigation by French authorities. We operate both Boeing and Airbus products and we will continue to work with both these manufacturers," Hogan told Gulf News on the sidelines of the ongoing MEED conference here. He said Airbus' track record as an aircraft manufacturer is world class.

Separately, asked if the airline has plans for an initial public offering of its shares, Hogan said: "We are a new airline. It's premature to talk about it at this stage."

Hogan said the strategy of the airline is to develop Abu Dhabi as a gateway to the rest of the world. "Our operating model is a mixture of short-haul and long-haul," he said.

A spokesman for Etihad said the airline has placed orders for four A380s with Airbus.

"The first of these will join our fleet in 2013," said Iain Burns, vice-president for corporate communications. He said the airline has not placed any orders for Boeing 787 Dreamliners.

Addition to network

Etihad currently flies to 45 destinations and by next spring it will add either Beijing or Shanghai as its 46th, said Burns.

Burns said if the Indian government gives permission, Etihad would like to include Bangalore, Kolkata and Chennai to its network in addition to several other Indian cities.

Etihad currently has a fleet of 33 aircraft. Of these, one aircraft is a Boeing 767 and seven are Boeing 777s. There are 25 Airbus aircraft in its fleet, two of which are A340-600s, the type which was involved in the Toulouse mishap. There are two A340-600s which are on Etihad's order book.

By Himendra Mohan Kumar

Gulf News 2007. All rights reserved.