Tag Archives: Etihad Airways

A state-of-the-art Etihad Airways Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner touched down in Lagos on August 1, 2019 after its inaugural flight from Abu Dhabi. Etihad Airways flight EY673 took off from Abu Dhabi at 2.35 am and arrived on schedule at 7.10 am local time. The return flight EY674 departed Lagos at 8.30 am and touched down back in the capital at 7.10 pm on August 2. The two-class B787-9 Dreamliner features Etihad Airways’ next-generation Business and Economy cabins configured with 299 seats — 28 Business Studios and 271 Economy Smart Seats. Robin Kamark, Chief Commercial Officer, Etihad Airways, said, “We are delighted to upgrade to the Dreamliner aircraft on the Lagos route to further enhance the guest experience and to meet the needs of the growing numbers of business and leisure passengers travelling to and from Nigeria’s largest city. Today’s modern traveller is constantly searching for comfort, innovation and convenience, and we aim to provide the highest standard of hospitality and technological advancements to make any journey a memorable one.” Etihad Airways’ service to Lagos was inaugurated in July 2012.  The route has proved very successful for the airline, recording consistently strong demand to and from both cities.

Etihad Guest, the loyalty programme of Etihad Airways, has signed a frequent flyer programme agreement with Booking.com, one of the world’s major digital travel platforms. This agreement will enable Etihad Guest customers to earn Etihad Guest Miles when booking accommodation through Booking.com on a special co-branded version of the website. Depending on the accommodation booked, customers will earn between three and six Etihad Guest Miles for every USD 1 spent, starting August 1, 2019. Yasser Al Yousuf, Etihad Airways Vice President Commercial Partnerships, said, “We are always looking for new ways to add value to our loyalty programme and now through this partnership with Booking.com, we are delighted to give travellers the ability to earn Etihad Guest Miles not only when booking flights, but their accommodation as well.” “We are constantly exploring new collaborations that enable us to help connect even more travellers with their ideal stay, whether that’s a 5-star resort, a cosy B&B or chic city apartment,” said Ripsy Bandourian, Vice President of Partnerships at Booking.com. “We’re delighted to be partnering with Etihad Guest and providing additional value to our mutual customers that truly enhances their overall shopping and trip experience.” Etihad Guest Miles will automatically be awarded 8 to 12 weeks after the guests complete their stay and can be redeemed for flights and upgrades with Etihad Airways, over 20 airline partners globally, as well as electronics, fashion items and gifts from a range of over 3,000 leading brands available at Etihad Guest’s Reward Shop.

Etihad Airways will be launching a fourth year-round daily service from Abu Dhabi to London Heathrow on October 27, 2019. Robin Kamark, Commercial Officer, Etihad Aviation Group Chief, said, “The flagship Abu Dhabi to London route is tremendously popular with point-to-point business and leisure travellers, and those transiting beyond our hub and we recently boosted frequencies between the two cities to meet increased demand at peak travel times. Adding a fourth year-round flight will provide much needed capacity and optimised timings and easy connections to key destinations across the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Australia. The new service demonstrates our commitment to the crucially important UK market, and ensures we provide our customers with all the benefits of a next-generation fleet across all 42 weekly departures to and from the United Kingdom.” The new service introduces a convenient mid-morning departure from Abu Dhabi and a late evening departure from London Heathrow and follows the introduction of additional seasonal services this summer. The airline will introduce a next-generation, two-class Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on one of its four daily London services. The aircraft is configured with 299 seats — 28 Business Studios and 271 Economy Smart Seats. This complements the three other services which are operated by Etihad’s 486-seat Airbus A380s, which feature The Residence, a luxurious three-room cabin, nine private First Apartments, 70 Business Studios and 405 Economy Smart Seats. These include 80 Economy Space seats with a seat pitch of up to 36 inches. In addition to the four daily flights into the UK capital, Etihad Airways also operates two daily Boeing 787 Dreamliner services between Abu Dhabi and Manchester.

Etihad Airways celebrated the deployment of the Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner on its daily scheduled services to Shanghai by hosting a spectacular ‘Abu Dhabi Night’ reception. The occasion was attended by leading figures from the UAE and local government officials, diplomats, corporate partners, members of the travel industry and social influencers from the two countries. Robin Kamark, Etihad Aviation Group Chief Commercial Officer, said, “Since the launch of our flights between Shanghai and Abu Dhabi in 2012, we have witnessed huge growth in China’s outbound tourism market and experienced strong demand from both business and leisure travellers. We are delighted to now deploy the larger 787-10 Dreamliner on this popular route, a decision which reflects the importance of Shanghai and China to Etihad Airways.” H.E. Dr. Ali Obaid Al Dhaheri, UAE Ambassador to China, said, “The aviation sector makes an invaluable contribution of 13 per cent of the UAE’s GDP and as such is one of the most valuable aspects of the UAE-China relationship. Our country has become an important strategic trading partner for China’s overseas investment, positioned as it is at the crossroads of continents. The UAE sits at a crucial pivot point of the international arc of the Belt and Road Initiative, and we are working with the Chinese government to capitalise on this geostrategic benefit, as the natural gateway to Africa and the wider Middle East.”

The occasion was marked in style with a spectacular ‘Abu Dhabi Night’ evening reception at The Shilla, Seoul’s most iconic landmark hotel. Effective July 1, 2019, Etihad Airways will operate the Airbus A380 on its daily service linking Abu Dhabi and Seoul. With the introduction of the A380, the South Korean capital’s Incheon airport now joins London Heathrow, Paris Charles de Gaulle, New York JFK and Sydney as the top destinations served by the airline’s award-winning aircraft. Robin Kamark, Aviation Group Chief Commercial Officer, Etihad, said, “We are delighted to include Seoul as one of our most important destinations on the Etihad network with the increased capacity and flagship flying experience only the A380 can provide. The move will guarantee product consistency and more convenient travel options for more customers travelling to and from Korea, ensuring they experience the ultimate flying experience.” Etihad Airways launched its Abu Dhabi to Seoul service in December 2010 and upgraded the daily flights to its state-of-the-art Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on August 1, 2018 in order to further meet the demands for a more comfortable and personalised travel experience. Etihad Airways operates extensive codeshare partnerships with both Korean Air and Asiana Airlines, providing enhanced connections between Australasia, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America.

Etihad Airways is preparing to launch seasonal summer flights from Abu Dhabi to the historic Egyptian city of Alexandria, one of oldest continuously-inhabited locations in the world and home to the Great Library of Alexandria and one of the ancient world wonders, the Pharos Lighthouse. This famous coastal city is also a convenient gateway for many of the Egyptian expatriates living in the UAE and planning to return home during the summer holidays. Between July 2 and August 31, the Airbus A320 flights will depart Abu Dhabi at 2.15 pm every Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, arriving in Alexandria at 4:00 pm. Return flights will depart Alexandria at 4:50 pm, arriving back in Abu Dhabi at 10:40 pm. With the addition of these seasonal services, Etihad will operate a total of 32 flights per week to Egypt – 28 flights to Cairo and four to Alexandria. Robin Kamark, Chief Commercial Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said, “Alexandria is one of the most popular holiday destinations for UAE residents, and our new seasonal flights are timed to provide access for tourists during the peak summer period. These flights will also be a convenient option for many of the Egyptian nationals living in the UAE and planning to return home during the holiday season.”  

Etihad Airways is preparing to launch seasonal flights between Abu Dhabi and the coastal city of Salalah, southern Oman, in time for the region’s unique Khareef, or green season. Etihad will fly to Salalah four times per week between July 2 and  August 31, the peak of the green season.  The flights, to be operated with two-class Airbus A320 aircraft, will depart Abu Dhabi at 8.05 am each Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, arriving at 10.00 am, and enabling guests to begin their break by early afternoon. Salalah is one of the few locations on the Arabian Peninsula that experiences a monsoon season, creating extensive vegetation growth and spectacular waterfalls throughout the coastal ranges, and delivering significantly lower temperatures than the rest of the GCC. Robin Kamark, Chief Commercial Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said, “Salalah is one of the most sought-after destinations in Oman, and Khareef is an amazing season in which to visit. The green mountains and flowing waterfalls are rare and beautiful in this region, and less than two hours flying time from Abu Dhabi. Our new seasonal flights provide a great opportunity to experience this extraordinary destination at one of the best times of the year, either for a short break or an extended period.”  

Etihad Airways celebrated the introduction of its newest aircraft type, the Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner, on daily services to Rome, with a special dinner at the Rome Cavalieri Hotel. The airline is now flying the largest variant of this technologically-advanced aircraft from Abu Dhabi to Rome every morning, complementing a second flight each evening with Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. The dinner, hosted by Italian anchorwoman Roberta Capua, was attended by His Excellency Ahmed Al Mulla, UAE Deputy Ambassador to Italy, and Martin Drew, Vice President, Europe & the Americas, Etihad. Guests were treated to traditional Arabic calligraphy on arrival and music inspired by traditional Arabic instruments. The event also featured a special panel discussion dedicated to Destination Abu Dhabi, in which three guests from different industries shared their common affection for the UAE’s capital city. Guillermo Mariotto, fashion stylist and TV personality, Irene Saderini, sports reporter covering Superbike and Formula E events for Sky Sport, and Clelia Patella, art influencer and writer, passionately described their experiences about working in the city. Robin Kamark, Chief Commercial Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said, “We are delighted to be here in Rome, celebrating a very special aircraft, serving a very important city in our network. The introduction of Boeing 787s across our network will enable us to further enhance our inflight experience, giving our guests the opportunity to enjoy the highly customised Dreamliner cabins in the world. We are delighted that Rome is among the first cities to receive our new 787-10 aircraft, and look forward to celebrating the introduction of the 787-9 to Milan in September.”  

Etihad Airways and Swae, an award-winning startup based in Vancouver, have partnered to launch iFikra, an artificial intelligence-powered platform aimed at unlocking the full potential of Etihad’s workforce by enabling every employee to contribute to innovation. Designed to harness the collective creativity of the organisation, the iFikra platform is a pilot aimed at promoting intrapreneurship by allowing employees to propose innovative solutions to address Etihad’s ongoing business challenges and untapped opportunities. Tony Douglas, Group Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, launched the new platform, reaffirming the importance of innovation within the organisation. He said, “We recognise that there is an abundance of great ideas right here in our organisation and no one knows our business better than our employees, so we developed this tool to give them the platform they need to innovate.” The new platform leverages artificial intelligence to support and augment written business proposals generated by staff, while enabling an open feedback and collaboration learning loop, based on the principles of transparency and meritocracy, to help escalate the best ideas forward efficiently. For the first time, employees have the power to shape organisational strategy by voting, commenting and providing constructive feedback on their colleague’s ideas, playing a direct role in the decision-making process.  Ideas that ‘graduate‘ from the platform will be provided with seed funding and support through Innovate Lab, Etihad’s innovation lab. The Lab supports rapid trial and iteration of promising ideas and projects, accelerating the delivery of prototypes, pilots, proof of concepts and minimum viable products. Soushiant Zangenehpour, Chief Executive Officer of Swae, said, “We’re excited to partner with Etihad on this integration of Swae. We believe Swae’s platform can help Etihad improve the inclusivity and …

Abu Dhabi Airports has welcomed new daily flights from Al Ain International Airport (AAN) to King Abdulaziz International Airport (KAIA) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, designed to facilitate travel to Saudi Arabia for the performance of the Islamic pilgrimage, Umrah, during the holy month of Ramadan. The flights, operated by Etihad Airways, will take place during the last ten days of Ramadan, commencing on May 26 and continuing through to June 4, in line with the most popular time period for performing Umrah. Ahmed Al Shamisi, Acting Chief Operations Officer of Abu Dhabi Airports, said, “Ramadan is a blessed time of the year, and we are delighted to be able to support our customer’s performance of Umrah by adding a daily flight to Jeddah from Al Ain International Airport during the last ten days of Ramadan. We are continually working to enhance our services and offerings, and together with Etihad Airways we look forward to sharing the spirit of Ramadan with those travelling for Umrah.” Etihad Airways will operate its daily flights using its Airbus A330. Flights are scheduled to depart from Al Ain International Airport at 13:30 Local Time (LT) and arrive at King Abdulaziz International Airport at 15:20 LT. Returning flights will depart from King Abdulaziz International Airport at 16:20 LT and arrive at Al Ain International Airport at 20:05 LT.