Etihad Airways is seeking to raise debt to help finance upcoming deliveries of Boeing aircraft on order worth more than US$1b, banking sources familiar with the matter said. The carrier sent requests for proposals to banks about a month ago for 12-year secured funding for the delivery of 787 Dreamliner aircraft and a cargo plane, the sources said. Etihad has 51 787 Dreamliner jets on order, including 21 787-9s and 30 of the larger 787-10 variant. Its only cargo plane on order is a 777 Freighter. It was not immediately clear how many aircraft deliveries Etihad was seeking to finance via the debt it is looking to raise in the current round of talks with lenders. One or two Abu Dhabi-based banks placed tight bids for the proposed financing and are likely to either provide it on a bilateral basis or through club loans, the sources said. <br/>