Exciting Etihad Airways A350 News

Etihad Airways has accelerated efforts to bring the Airbus A350 exclusively to Sydney with an exciting change to its flying schedule.

The Abu Dhabi-based carrier has now begun flying the Airbus A350 across all flights between its home and Sydney. The move replaces the existing 787-9s and 777-300ERs, which were previously flying between the markets.

Once upon a time, the Airbus A380 also flew to the popular Australian city, before the pandemic. Moreover, this change to the A350 also represents an aircraft departure from the country.

The Boeing 777-300ER, which has been crucial to the airline’s operations to Australia for an extended period, has now departed for good, in what the airline calls a strategic move to bring the newest cabin and aircraft to the country.

In its current state, Etihad Airways operates 10 flights per week, all on the Airbus A350 to Sydney, with double-daily flights scheduled for Monday, Tuesday, and Friday.

However, moving forward, there’s every intention for Sydney to receive better connectivity from Etihad Airways, with the very likely jump to double-daily Airbus A350-1000 services; this is a matter of when, rather than if, it goes ahead.

The A350 is considered an essential model across the carrier’s long-haul operations and has received positive passenger feedback thanks to its next-generation cabin.

Etihad Airways directly attributes the change to the A350-1000 across all services coming sooner than expected by around two months, as demand for premium capacity has continued to increase, and deploying the A350-1000 allows the business to do this sooner rather than later, mainly as the holidays truly commence.

The aircraft is configured to seat 327 passengers in Economy class; however, it’s at the front of the plane where the real money is made with Etihad Airways choosing to have 44 business suites made available to customers, a reflection of meeting premium demand around the world.

A Big Year For Etihad Airways

The switch to all A350-1000s, coming as an early Christmas present for Etihad Airways, caps off what has been a busy year for the airline as it has continued to chart a course for growth and has undoubtedly achieved that and more.

Just last month at the Dubai Airshow, the company committed to further Airbus A350-1000s as part of its network enhancement efforts, a now-familiar aircraft in the business, adding to the backlog and allowing it to move forward with its Journey 2030 ambitions.

That order wasn’t just for the A350-1000 either; Etihad Airways is also committing to a new aircraft type to enhance its backlog, with the A330neo selected as part of renewal and growth efforts, complemented by the A350F for Etihad Cargo flying moving forward.

Purchases of new aircraft were just one of the many positives for the business across the year, further highlighted by new arrivals. While the industry was in pain, Etihad Airways was able to welcome new planes continuously, earning it the title of one of the fastest-growing airlines worldwide.

Those new planes paved the way for the expansion of the route network, with many entering service and being deployed to either existing markets with more flights or new locations welcoming the airline for the very first time.

2025 has been a big year, record-breaking in fact, with the company now flying 300 flights per day, every single day throughout the year, and this all comes with Journey 2030 ambitions that will see the business double in size in more areas than one.