Etihad Airways last week celebrated a major milestone as the fastest growing airline in commercial aviation history, when it took delivery of its 100th and 101st aircraft on the same day. The 100th aircraft, a new Airbus A321-231, was delivered from the Airbus Finkenwerder facility in Hamburg. On arrival in Abu Dhabi, the aircraft was welcomed by over 500 Etihad Airways employees at a specially organised photo-shoot to mark the occasion.
James Hogan, President and Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Airways, said, “This is an important day for an airline which launched operations just over ten years ago. Etihad Airways continues to grow, to prosper and to lead the way in innovation and service. Today, we fly the most technologically advanced and fuel efficient aircraft available, setting new standards in comfort and reliability.”
Furthermore, Codeshare partners Etihad Airways and Air New Zealand have signed a wide-ranging agreement to provide reciprocal line maintenance services in Melbourne, Australia, and Los Angeles in the USA. Etihad Airways will soon perform all scheduled and non-scheduled line maintenance on Air New Zealand aircraft in Melbourne at its Tullamarine engineering facility. In return, Air New Zealand is already performing full line maintenance for Etihad Airways in Los Angeles. The maintenance services to be performed in Melbourne and Los Angeles may include transit, daily and weekly checks, scheduled engineering services and fault repairs for the aircraft systems and passenger cabins.
Jeff Wilkinson, Senior Vice President Technical, Etihad Airways said, “Our successful codeshare partnership with Air New Zealand goes back three years and we are delighted to build on this foundation by working together in the technical area. Etihad Airways’ Melbourne line maintenance facilities, services and personnel are world-class, and we look forward to servicing Air New Zealand’s aircraft while they perform similar line maintenance for us at their modern facility in Los Angeles. We also expect this announcement to lead to further employment opportunities at our Melbourne line maintenance facility in the future.”
Bruce Parton, Chief Operations Officer, Air New Zealand said, “We look forward to working with Etihad Airways both as a customer and service provider. Our Los Angeles maintenance team currently provides services to several airlines and we are excited to add Etihad Airways to the list.”
