By Federico Maccioni and Jana Choukeir
DUBAI (Reuters) -Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways remains unaffected by recent turmoil from U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff policies, its CEO Antonoaldo Neves told Reuters on Monday, noting that it was still too early to fully gauge the effects of the levies.
Trump’s announcement, and subsequent pause, of sweeping tariffs targeting dozens of the United States’ trading partners earlier this month created widespread market uncertainty and raised fears of a global economic downturn.
Neves said the airline had recorded strong seat occupancy levels in recent weeks despite the trade tensions, and added that the global volatility could even create opportunities in some instances.
He expects more Europeans, for example, to take advantage of the euro’s recent gains against the dollar and the region’s dollar-pegged currencies.
“It means that the euro now is stronger when you compare it to the Middle Eastern currency … So I expect to see more Europeans coming,” Neves said on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market fair in Dubai.
Neves’ comments echoed fellow Gulf airline Riyadh Air, which earlier on Monday said the global economic uncertainty had not reduced demand for travel to the Saudi capital.
If tariff-induced turmoil does eventually impact passenger numbers, Neves said Etihad, which has a fleet of around 100 aircraft, had a contingency plan and can rely on its flexibility.
“About 60% of our planes are unencumbered, so they’re all fully paid for. If I get a crisis one day, I park planes … and save 75% of the cost,” he said.
At a press conference earlier on Monday, Neves said the airline is planning on adding 20 to 22 new planes this year, as it aims to expand its fleet to more than 170 planes by 2030.
Etihad, owned by Abu Dhabi’s $225 billion wealth fund ADQ, is planning to fly to over 125 airports by 2030 as part of the oil-rich emirate’s efforts to diversify its economy and become a global travel hub.
(Reporting by Jana Choukeir and Federico Maccioni, Editing by Louise Heavens, Kirsten Donovan and Joe Bavier)
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