Driven by clear vision and mature planning we have grown from a small regional start-up into the world’s leading airline in the space of just six years.
A royal decree from the then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi (now the President), Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, gave birth to Etihad Airways in July 2003. "Etihad" is Arabic for "united", a fitting title for the UAE’s national airline.
Services began on November 5, 2003 with a ceremonial flight to our historic city, Al Ain. We launched services to Beirut the following week, and in the same month we set up our Etihad Holidays subsidiary. We were soon adding a new route almost every month.
June 2004 saw our first direct flights from the UAE to Geneva. The following year we were flying to Toronto. Within 30 months of our launch we were serving 30 destinations.
By October 2010, we were operating 56 aircraft carrying nearly seven million guests a year between 66 destinations.
With Etihad, everyone who flies with us is welcomed as our guest. Discover how we put the pleasure back into flying.
