Etihad Airways unveils its first NFT collection

Each one will feature different Boeing 787 Dreamliner livery

A total of 2003 limited-edition collectibles, symbolising the year when Etihad Airways was established, will go on sale at 6pm UAE time on July 21. Photo: Etihad

Etihad Airways has announced its first non-fungible token (NFT) collection.

The collection, called EY-Zero1, will have 10 detailed 3D aircraft models, with each one featuring a different Etihad Boeing 787 Dreamliner livery.

A total of 2003 limited-edition collectibles, symbolising the year when Etihad Airways was established, will go on sale at 6pm UAE time on July 21, Etihad said on Wednesday.

Purchasers of an Etihad NFT will be granted Etihad Guest Silver tier membership for a year, while 10 NFT holders will win flight tickets.

“We are excited to launch our first NFT collection, EY-Zero1, which not only offers collectors, aviation enthusiasts and travellers a unique work of art, but provides real-world travel and lifestyle benefits with Etihad Airways,” said Tony Douglas, group chief executive of Etihad Aviation Group.

“NFTs and other metaverse technologies are revolutionising the digital economy, and we are proud to be one of the first airlines in the world to explore their potential to provide additional utility for our customers.”

Etihad said it will be giving away 20 NFTs to people who preregister on etihad.com/zero1 by July 16. Each NFT will be priced at $349 plus tax on etihad.arcube.io, and the sale will close on August 18 at 6pm UAE time.

EY-Zero1 is set to be minted on the Polygon blockchain, and Etihad Airways will enter into partnership with Aerial.is to track the carbon dioxide emissions of the NFTs.

In addition to offsetting the entire carbon footprint of the project, the airline said it would allocate all proceeds from the collection to purchase sustainable aviation fuel in 2022.

Dubai airline Emirates said earlier this year that it planned to build brand experiences in the metaverse and launch NFTs.

What are NFTs?

NFTs are digital avatars of artworks and collectibles. Ownership of these digital assets is recorded on a blockchain, which is a digital ledger. But unlike currencies, in which every token is of equal value and can be swapped for any other, NFTs have unique qualities that stop them from being interchangeable or fungible.

They can have only one official owner at one time. And since they are minted and secured on the blockchain, no one can modify the record of ownership, not even copy-paste it into a new one.

Collectors of NFTs sent more than $37 billion worth of the digital assets to NFT marketplaces so far this year, according to a report by Chainalysis in May.

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