Etihad Airways (EY, Abu Dhabi International) will exercise options for three A350Fs, the carrier's vice president for cargo, Stanislas Brun, recently told FreightWaves.

The airline signed a firm order for seven of the Airbus freighters in February 2022, with options for another three. Brun says that strong growth in e-commerce shipments from Asia is behind the latest decision.

The Etihad Aviation Group board recently approved exercising the options. However, the final delivery terms are yet to be finalised. The A350F is still in development, but Etihad expects deliveries to start in 2026/27 and run through to the end of the decade. The carrier's cargo division currently operates five B777-200Fs.

"In the next five years, we should go from five to 15 freighter aircraft,” Brun said.

While much of Etihad's cargo is carried in the bellyholds of its passenger aircraft, ch-aviation schedules data shows the existing B777 freighters fly between Abu Dhabi and Amsterdam Schiphol, Ezhou, Frankfurt International, Guangzhou, Hanoi Noi Bai International, Hong Kong International, Johannesburg O.R. Tambo, Madrid Barajas, Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta, Riyadh, and Shanghai Pudong.