More aircraft engines for Etihad: Sovereign investment fund Mubadala’s aerospace engineering and leasing subsidiary Sanad finalized an agreement to sell 16 aircraft engines to Etihad Airways for approximately AED 1.5 bn, according to a press release.

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What’s Etihad buying? Etihad will receive nine GEnx engines for its Boeing 787 aircrafts, five GP7200 engines for its Airbus A380s, one Trent XWB engine for its Airbus A350, and one V2500 engine for its Airbus A320.

A long-standing partnership: Sanad has been a provider of maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) services for Etihad since 2003, the statement said. Total financing transactions between Etihad and Sanad are valued at over AED 3 bn.

REMEMBER- Etihad Airways has been pushing forward with its expansion plans as it gears up for an IPO next year. The airline plans to double its fleet size and triple passenger numbers by 2030, adding 16 aircraft to its 92 fleet in 1H, and said it was expecting to add more than 20 new generation aircraft to its fleet in the next 18 months. Etihad’s parent company ADQ is reportedly going after both a traditional IPO and direct listing on ADX no sooner than in 2025, with the offering expected to raise as much as USD 1 bn.

Impact on Sanad: The company sees revenues reaching AED 4.5 bn by year-end, after seeing some AED 3.4 bn in revenues in 9M 2024, Sanad’s CEO Mansoor Janahi, told CNBC Arabia (watch, runtime: 6:55) in an interview.

Coming soon: The company is planning to launch a fifth maintenance line on 18 November with an investment of AED 100 mn, Janahi said. Sanad plans to boost its capacity to 172 engines this year, and more than 200 engines next year, he added.

And there’s more in the pipeline for Etihad: Etihad Airways is planning to reveal a significant network expansion in late November and early next year as it prepares to receive its first Airbus A321LR. “The date to watch out for is November 25, when we will announce 11 new cities. And then, next year — around January or February — we’re going to announce 20 more cities. So we have a lot of growth coming,” Etihad Airways Chief Revenue and Commercial Officer Arik De told delegates at a summit earlier this month.

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