Airline Identity
History
Etihad Airways was established by Amiri decree in July 2003 as the United Arab Emirates' second flag carrier alongside Dubai-based Emirates, and began flying in November 2003 from Abu Dhabi. Through the mid-2010s it pursued an aggressive 'equity alliance' strategy, taking minority stakes in carriers such as Alitalia, Air Berlin and Jet Airways, several of which later collapsed; this led Etihad to retrench and refocus on its own network from the late 2010s onward.
Current Operations
Etihad now serves roughly 80-120 passenger and cargo destinations across the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and North America from its Abu Dhabi (Zayed International Airport) hub, with a fleet of just over 100 Airbus and Boeing aircraft including A350s, 787 Dreamliners, and A380s redeployed to premium routes such as London, New York, Paris, Singapore and Toronto. Ownership passed from the Abu Dhabi government directly to the sovereign wealth fund ADQ in October 2022, and after years of losses tied to the failed equity-alliance strategy, Etihad returned to record profitability in 2025 with about AED 2.6 billion (roughly US$698 million) in profit.
Last verified 2026-08-22· Source: airline public disclosures, company press releases & aviation-industry reporting.