The pandemic has had a significant impact on Etihad, with flights this winter still below half of what they were. The B787-9 has become its leading aircraft, displacing what was number-one, the A320. The Airbus narrowbody is now the second least-used, ahead of only the B777-300ER.

Etihad now has six active aircraft types

Along with five active B777-200Fs, Etihad currently has 30 active B787-9s, nine A321s, eight B787-10s, seven B777-300ERs, and six A320s, according to ch-aviation.com. It now has 65 operational aircraft. Note that another aircraft, A6-ETF, a 12-year-old B777-300ER, has been undertaking local flying, presumably ahead of reentering service.

After retiring its A330-200s and A330-300s last year, all of Etihad's 19-strong B777-300ERs will be withdrawn soon. They'll join the retirement of the A380. However, while Etihad's boss, Tony Douglas, previously said "never say never" to a return of the double-decker, in recent days, he said that it could return, circumstances depending. Just like it has with Qatar Airways due to its A350 situation. I'd not hold my breath on Etihad using them again, though.

Etihad Airways Boeing 777-300ER landing at London Heathrow
The carrier also modified some of its other 777s to support cargo operations. Photo: Getty Images.

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Etihad's aircraft use this winter

Between October 31st and March 27th, the aviation winter season, Etihad has some 16,719 flights scheduled, according to Cirium schedules information. That's less than half the number in winter 2019. As you'd expect, this is for passenger flights only, not freight.

The carrier continues to passenger B777-300ERs on freight-only runs. For example, when writing, A6-ETJ, a 9.9-year-old -300ER, is en route from Abu Dhabi to Phenom Penh as EY9643. In recent days, it has switched between regular passenger flights and freight services. Freight flights included Doha- Zarazogza-Mexico City and back and Abu Dhabi to Dhaka and back.

Etihad A320
The use of the A320 has reduced significantly. Photo: Getty Images.

The B787-9 is now #1, replacing the A320

Looking at passenger services, the B787-9 has virtually half (49%) of all flights this winter, Cirium shows, followed by the A321 (23%), B787-10 (15%), A320 (11%), and the B777-300ER (just 2%). Etihad has two configurations of the mid-sized B787 variant, with the most common in a 290-seat layout: 28 in business and 262 in economy.

What a difference the pandemic has made. In winter 2019, the A320 was the most deployed aircraft with one-third of movements. The narrowbody had 12,000+ flights, down to barely 2,000 now. It was followed by the B787-9 (24%), A321 (15%), B777-300ER (14%), A380 (6%), and B787-10 (6%). With about two in every 100 flights, the A330 was already very much on its way out.

Etihad B787-9 flights
Thirteen Etihad B787-9s are airborne when writing. Highlighted is EY17 (operating as "Etihad 57 X-Ray") bound to Heathrow, the carrier's leading destination for the type. It is currently south of Baghdad at 36,000 feet. Image: Radarbox.com.

In the current winter, Etihad deploys its B787-9s to 52 destinations, including Tel Aviv and Vienna, inaugurated in 2021. Asia has more services than any other continent, followed by Europe, North America, the Middle East, Australasia, and Africa. Destinations with the most B787-9 flights: Heathrow, Chicago, Washington, Male, JFK, Delhi, Jakarta, Barcelona, Phuket, and Mumbai.

Narrowbodies remain important for Etihad, just as they do for Qatar Airways. What Etihad aircraft have you flown? The author has flown the A340-500, A380, and B777-300ER.