Avianca Operates Barcelona Route for Etihad Under ACMI Model

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 25, Avianca began operating the Barcelona–Abu Dhabi route for Etihad Airways under a wet-lease (ACMI) arrangement, using Boeing 787-8 aircraft. The contract runs from October 25, 2026 to October 25, 2027, for a duration of one year. This marks Avianca's first entry into the UAE market and the first operational project to enter actual flight service following the strategic cooperation memorandum of understanding signed between Abra Group and Etihad Airways on July 21, 2026 at the Farnborough Airshow.

The allocation of responsibilities under the wet lease is the core structure of this cooperation. Under the ACMI model, Avianca provides the aircraft, crew (flight crew and cabin crew), maintenance, and insurance; Etihad Airways sells the flights under its own code (EY), sets fares, and is responsible for ground and customer services. Passengers purchase flights sold by Etihad, while the aircraft and crew actually operating the flights come from Avianca. The two companies did not disclose the contract value, wet-lease rates, or revenue-sharing arrangements.

The flight operated by Avianca runs daily, departing Barcelona at 10:10 local time and returning from Abu Dhabi at 02:35 local time. There are seven daily flights on this route in total, with the remaining six still operated by Etihad's own aircraft. The 787-8 deployed by Avianca features the standard "Insignia" configuration with a total of 291 seats: 20 business class seats in a 1-2-1 reverse herringbone layout, fully flat with direct aisle access; 271 economy class seats in a 3-3-3 layout. It should be noted that Avianca's 787-8 fleet has three cabin configurations—in addition to the Insignia version used for this operation, there are 3 aircraft with former Norwegian cabins (business class in a 2-3-2 recliner layout, without flat beds), as well as new business class suites being gradually introduced from December 2026. The wet-lease route uses the Insignia version, not the former Norwegian version.

The straight-line distance from Barcelona to Abu Dhabi is approximately 5,173 km, with actual flight time typically ranging from 6 hours to 7 hours 12 minutes, depending on the day's routing and meteorological conditions. The 787-8 has a range of approximately 14,200 to 15,200 km at full payload, and is not fuel-limited when operating this sector, able to complete it with full passenger and cargo loads.