A sign of things to come, as Etihad has placed orders for up to 14 A380s. It is seen at Abu Dhabi in the airline's livery during environmental testing in July 2006. At the completion of the work two Etihad pilots were given the opportunity to fly the aircraft.

Etihad's innovative French tax lease financing deal for one of its A340-642Xs earned it the Air Finance Journal 'Middle East Deal of the Year' in 2007.

Among the orders placed for new aircraft at this year's Farnborough International Airshow were those for 35 Boeing 787 Dreamliners (plus 25 options and ten purchase rights).

Airfreight, particularly transit cargo, has been identified as one of the airline's key growth areas. A300B4-622R (F) TF-ELK is leased from Air Atlanta Icelandic, but sports Etihad colours.