Etihad aircraft. Photo: Etihad Etihad Airways closed out November on a high note, carrying 2.1 million passengers during the month, a jump of 28% compared to last year and the airline’s strongest monthly result of 2025. Planes were busy too, with an 89% load factor that held steady throughout the month.
Across the first eleven months of the year, Etihad has flown 20.2 million travelers, up 20% from the same period in 2024. Even with that growth, the airline has managed to keep its average load factor at 88%, suggesting demand has kept pace with the increase in available seats.
November was also a month of network expansion. Etihad added new routes to Tunis, Hanoi, Chiang Mai, Hong Kong, and Medina, which helped drive both outbound traffic and a growing flow of visitors into Abu Dhabi.
These additions fit into the carrier’s wider strategy of building out key markets while strengthening its role as a gateway to the region.
The fleet continues to grow just as quickly. By the end of November, Etihad operated 124 aircraft, up from 98 a year earlier, thanks in part to four new A321LRs added during the month. The scale of this expansion shows how aggressively the airline is positioning itself for the coming years.
Antonoaldo Neves, Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways, credited the airline’s teams for the steady rise in performance.
“These results demonstrate the hard work of our teams. We've systematically built out our network, invested in our product, and our expanded capacity is bringing more visitors to experience all that Abu Dhabi has to offer,” he said.
He added that what stands out most is the stability of results throughout 2025. “What's particularly encouraging is the consistency of our performance across the year. Our network continues to resonate with customers globally, and we're maintaining high load factors while adding significant capacity. This operational strength positions us well heading into the final month of the year.”