Etihad to place orders at Farnborough

Abu Dhabi, July 2, 2008 (WAM) - While Emirates and Air Arabia have ruled out possibilities of placing fresh aircraft orders at the 60th Farnborough International Airshow owing to rising fuel prices, Etihad Airways plans to place an order for between 50 and 100 aircraft during the airshow.

The air show takes place from July 14-20 according to a report in 'Emirates Business 24/7.'

"Etihad Airways has said for a while that it will order in the summer
between 50-100 aircraft, which the airline will need to deliver its flying
programme up to 2020 and the Farnborough air show is the perfect venue to
make such an announcement," Iain Burns, Etihad Airways' Vice-President, told
Emirates Business.

"Fuel cost, fuel efficiency and fuel burn are all factors when choosing new
aircraft and new engines. The high cost of jet fuel is a challenge for all
carriers and at Etihad we manage the issue through a comprehensive hedging
programme for buying fuel," he added.

Burns further said that Etihad has no plans to cancel any of the new routes
scheduled for launch this year. "We have no plans to postpone any of the
five new routes from Abu Dhabi to Minsk, Kozhikode, Chennai, Moscow and
Almaty that we are set to launch this year," he added.

Qatar Airways, meanwhile, has not yet revealed its plans for the airshow,
but the Doha-based carrier is expected to make an announcement. "We have a
planned press conference at Farnborough. Unfortunately, we cannot say any
more on the announcement," said the airline's spokesperson, adding that
Qatar Airways had made no announcement at the last Farnborough airshow two
years ago.

Sharjah's budget carrier, Air Arabia, also has no plans to place any fresh
orders at the Farnborough airshow, according to a company spokesperson as
quoted by Zawya Dow Jones. The carrier bought two Airbus A320 aircraft in
March 2008 and signed a US$3.5 billion (Dh12.8bn) order for 49 Airbus A320s
at the Dubai Airshow in November last year.