Etihad takes advantage of grounded fleet to conduct maintenance

Etihad Airways has found itself faced with an unprecedented challenge. The United Arab Emirates flag carrier had most of its fleet grounded when the government enacted a flight ban. However, this gave rise to a huge opportunity for the airline.

Typically, if aircraft are not flying it is a very bad thing for airlines. After all, an aircraft that’s not carrying passengers through the skies is not making money. If anything, it could be racking up parking charges instead. However, instead of moping about the situation, Etihad has put all hands on deck to take advantage of the unique circumstances.

Typically, aircraft are scheduled for heavy maintenance a few at a time. This means that there should be no noticeable impact on regular passenger services. On any given day, Etihad’s fleet of around 100 aircraft would operate some 220 flights. However, with borders closed, many of the airline’s planes have nowhere to fly right now.

As a result, the flag carrier of the UAE has been conducting maintenance and deep cleans on aircraft that would otherwise be flying. So far, the airline’s maintenance crew has replaced 10,000 seat covers, equivalent to around 20 Airbus A380s.
Etihad’s aircraft have been grounded due to the current crisis that has hit the whole aviation industry. The demand for passenger flights fell dramatically throughout March. This was partly due to passengers no longer wanting to travel, but also due to borders being closed by governments.

When passengers don’t fly it becomes impractical to operate aircraft, both from an economic and environmental standpoint. As a result, Etihad Airways was already running a reduced service, when the government of the United Arab Emirates decided that it would enact its own flight ban to stop the spread of the virus.

While Emirates is left flying to just London and Frankfurt, Etihad is serving slightly more destinations. The carrier is operating flights to London, Zurich, Brussels, Tokyo, Dublin, Amsterdam, Seoul, Singapore, Manila, and Jakarta. Although these flights are on a very schedule, with some operating just twice for the time being.