Tag Archives: Etihad Airways

Etihad Airways is encouraging travellers to start planning their next trip, once travel restrictions ease with the launch of ‘Etihad Travel Voucher’. Guests who purchase an Etihad Travel Voucher between June 10-24, 2020 will receive an extra 50% cash value for future travel from August 1, 2020 onwards. The vouchers are available in increments of USD 250 to a maximum of USD 65,000. The value of the purchased voucher plus 50% extra credit will be added to a Travel Bank account for future redemption on flights, upgrades and extras. Robin Kamark, Chief Commercial Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said, “Now, more than ever, we want to give the world something to look forward to. Valid for two years, Etihad Travel Voucher will give our guests plenty of time to plan their future trip, and with 50% extra credit, they will spend less on that well-deserved break,”

Etihad Airways has operated its first ever flight to Havana, Cuba. The goodwill flight, chartered by the Government of the United Arab Emirates, landed in the capital of the Caribbean island nation, carrying Cuban nationals returning home from the UAE. Havana is the latest addition to an expanding list of special charter flights to destinations not normally served on the airline’s global route network. Following the suspension of all normal passenger flights to and from the UAE on 24 March, Etihad has operated special humanitarian services to 32 cities around the world, all of which are not currently served by the airline’s passenger or cargo network of flights. These include Bogota, Bucharest, Grozny, Kiev, Larnaca, Podgorica, Tirana, Yerevan, Zagreb, Auckland, Bhubaneswar, Bishkek, Dushanbe, Dhaka, Erbil, Kabul, Lucknow, Makhachkala, Addis Ababa, Antananarivo, Bamako, Banjul, Conakry, Freetown, Harare, Kinshasa, Moroni, N’Djamena, Niamey, and Nouakchott. The airline recently operated a special humanitarian flight carrying essential medical and humanitarian cargo bound for the Palestinian Territories. Ahmed Al Qubaisi, Etihad Aviation Group Senior Vice President Government, International and Communications, said, “All of us at Etihad feel a collective sense of pride, and humility, in the knowledge that we have been able to fully mobilise our resources at a time of great difficulty and suffering, to provide essential aerial lifelines to those in need. We have been able to move with agility and fly to territories never served by us prior to the current global lockdown, so we can aid in the repatriation of people.” “Our services are a natural extension of the goodwill initiatives of the Government of the United Arab Emirates, and other governments and NGOs. As an international airline made up of a …

Etihad Airways has amplified its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives to support those affected by the novel coronavirus. In an effort to provide additional safety for medical staff interacting with patients, the Etihad Airways Medical Centre (EAMC) collaborated with Etihad Engineering to develop personal protective equipment (PPE) that would add an additional layer of protection for healthcare professionals working in medical centres across the UAE. Dr. Nadia Al Bastaki, Vice President Medical Services at Etihad Aviation Group said, “As part of our CSR efforts, as an organisation we challenged ourselves to determine what we could do to help combat the effects of this global pandemic. With high demand for PPE in the UAE, our innovative design team at Etihad Engineering successfully developed 1,000 face shields for us to distribute locally. With the logistical support of Emirates Red Crescent, we’ll start distributing the face shields to medical professionals at EAMC and SEHA this week.” “An overwhelming number of our employees have selflessly put their hand up to volunteer, from working at call centres, to distributing masks and gloves and physically cleaning the streets of our capital city as part of the government’s sanitisation programme. This year, Eid will not be the same for most. Therefore, in collaboration with Grace Conservation, we will be distributing 1,000 gift boxes to families in need containing clothes for adults and children,” added Dr Nadia.

Cozmo Travel started taking bookings from April 14, for the special repatriation flights which have been announced by the UAE government. The following airlines will be starting operations in a fixed schedule: Etihad Airways starts operations from April 14-22 – Seoul, Jakarta, Singapore, Manila, Melbourne, Amsterdam, London Heathrow, Brussels, Zurich, Tokyo, Dublin; Emirates start operations from April 12-20 – London, Frankfurt, Paris, Tunis and Manila; and FlyDubai from April 14 – Azerbaian, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Iraq, Iran, Kyrgyztan, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Ukraine,Uzbekistan. The destinations and the airlines and more information will be available subject to conditions announced by other foreign governments as well.

Etihad Airways has announced a series of special passenger flights from Abu Dhabi to Brussels, Dublin, London Heathrow, Tokyo Narita and Zurich, in addition to those previously published. The airline has been operating special flights which have allowed passengers stranded in the UAE due to COVID-19 restrictions, the opportunity to return home. The flights also support the ‘UAE Food Security Program’ by utilising belly-hold capacity of passenger aircraft for cargo. The airline continues to repatriate UAE citizens on return sectors, wherever possible, and carry fresh produce as belly-hold cargo back to Abu Dhabi. In addition to these newly announced destinations, Etihad continues to operate special passenger flights from Abu Dhabi to several destinations including Amsterdam, Jakarta, Manila, Melbourne, Seoul Incheon, and Singapore.

Further to the previously announced schedule of special passenger flights, Etihad Airways will add additional flights from Abu Dhabi to Melbourne and Amsterdam. The airline has been operating special flights which have allowed passengers stranded in the UAE due to COVID-19 restrictions, the opportunity to return home. The flights also support the ‘UAE Food Security Program’ by utilising belly-hold capacity of passenger aircraft for cargo. The airline continues to repatriate UAE citizens on return sectors, where possible, and carry fresh produce as belly-hold cargo, on the return segments back to Abu Dhabi. In addition to Melbourne and Amsterdam, Etihad continues to operate special passenger flights from Abu Dhabi to several destinations including Seoul Incheon, Singapore, Manila, and Jakarta.

Etihad Airways has updated its Etihad Credit offering by providing an additional bonus of up to 5,000 Etihad Guest Miles depending on the booked cabin class, to support passengers with impacted travel. Eligible Etihad guest members redeeming Etihad Credit will automatically receive the bonus miles within four weeks of their credit being issued. Guests not yet members of Etihad Guest can also claim bonus miles by applying online on their website. Etihad Credit allows customers to cancel their flight and use the value as credit to rebook their trip for travel until July 31, 2021 – any ticket, any fare type, any Etihad destination. Any fare difference from the original ticket price will be charged. Bonus Tier Miles will also be provided to eligible Etihad Guest members to keep them on track to reaching their next tier, even when it’s difficult to travel.

Etihad Airways will operate five special charter flights between Abu Dhabi and Moscow from March 21-25, 2020. The flights will aid in the repatriation of Russian and UAE citizens, as well as other nationals transiting through Abu Dhabi, to their home countries following the temporary suspension of services between the two cities due to current COVID-19 travel restrictions. The overnight flights will be operated by wide-body Boeing 787-9 and narrow-body Airbus A321 aircraft. Only Russian citizens will be permitted to fly on the Abu Dhabi – Moscow sector, while non-Russian passengers of any nationality will be allowed to fly via Abu Dhabi from Moscow, provided there are connecting flights available, and no travel restrictions in place which impede entry to their end destinations. Only UAE citizens will be permitted to enter the United Arab Emirates at Abu Dhabi International Airport.Flight EY 65 will depart Abu Dhabi at 2.15am for each of the charters, arriving in Moscow at 6.55am, while the return flight EY64 is scheduled to depart Moscow at 1.35am, arriving back in Abu Dhabi at 5.55am.

Etihad Airways is introducing Etihad credit to give guests the freedom to delay their travel plans by permitting a free cancellation and is offering the original value of their booking to be used as credit towards their next trip. As the situation around COVID-19 continues to evolve, these new measures will provide maximum flexibility and ensures guests that need to travel, do so safely and conveniently. Robin Kamark, Chief Commercial Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said, “Now, more than ever, there is a global effort to care for one another and halt the spread of COVID-19 and under these challenging circumstances. Etihad Credit is our way of helping to relieve some of the unnecessary burden many of our customers are facing.” Etihad Credit is available for all guests who have booked to travel before June 30, 2020. Guests have until September 30, 2020 to rebook their trip, for travel until December 31, 2020 – any ticket, any fare type, any Etihad destination. Any fare difference from the original ticket price will be charged. Additionally, Etihad Guest Members will be gifted monthly bonus Tier Miles from March 31 for three months to help them maintain their Tier Status. Eligible Members will receive further information directly. For guests with essential travel requirements, Etihad is working closely with the World Health Organisation, the Ministry of Health and Prevention of the United Arab Emirates, and IATA, as well as other organisations, to ensure a healthy flying experience. 

Etihad Airways will launch new daily scheduled year-round flights to Vienna. The service will initially operate with four weekly flights between May 22 and June 30, 2020. Etihad is introducing the new service to provide greater choice and convenience for point-to-point business and leisure travellers between the UAE and Austria, and to promote direct inbound tourism to Abu Dhabi. Departures have been conveniently timed to arrive early morning in Vienna, and to connect seamlessly in both directions via Abu Dhabi to gateways across the Etihad network including the GCC, Southeast Asia, and Australia. Robin Kamark, Chief Commercial Officer, Etihad Aviation Group, said, “The announcement of this route brings the number of our European passenger destinations to 22. Austria is an important trade and tourism partner for the UAE and the new flights will enable us to take advantage of the increasing business and leisure demand between the two countries. Trade between the UAE and Austria is strong and there are approximately 180 Austrian companies operating in the emirates. Tourism has been increasing in both directions with Austria becoming an increasingly popular year-round destination with UAE nationals and residents, attracted by the centuries old culture, breathtaking scenery, and famous ski resorts.” Etihad’s two-class Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner features next-generation Business and Economy cabins configured with 290 seats – 28 Business Studios and 262 Economy Smart Seats. The introduction of the widebody aircraft on the route will provide Etihad with opportunities for belly-hold cargo between Abu Dhabi and Vienna, and onwards across the Etihad Cargo network.