Etihad Airways subsidiary Etihad Cargo plans to add additional widebody capacity as it ramps up freight operations ahead of the arrival of its first new A350Fs, Air Cargo News reported.

Etihad Airways’ chief cargo officer, Stanislas Brun, told the outlet that by slowly adding freighters to the fleet, the carrier would not struggle to fill the extra capacity when the Airbus widebodies arrive. The airline did not immediately respond to queries from ch-aviation on if it had secured any additional aircraft.

The airline ultimately plans to operate 13 freighters once deliveries of the new widebodies is complete, Air Cargo News said. ch-aviation data shows Etihad's freighter fleet currently comprises five B777-200Fs, as well as a single B747-400(BDSF), N452SN (msn 25452), wet-leased from Western Global Airlines.

The Abu Dhabi-based carrier has a firm order for ten A350s, making it the biggest customer for the type along with Starlux Airlines which has also ordered ten. Ongoing supply-chain issues at the French manufacturer have, however, delayed the type's entry into service to 2026 at the earliest. Etihad is expecting its first A350Fs to arrive only in the second half of 2028, Air Cargo News added.

The airline placed the order for the new freighters in July 2022. When it later emerged that delivery of the new jets was likely to be delayed, the airline considered converting five of its passenger-configured B777-300ERs into freighters to provide cargo capacity.

Brun told Air Cargo News the carrier's freight volumes have increased over the first five months of the year despite the uncertainty in the wake of the US government's on-off tariff policy.

According to the airline's annual results presentation, the division saw revenues surge by 24% to AED4.2 billion dirhams (USD1.1 billion) in 2024 compared to the previous year.