Tag Archives: Etihad Airways

The State Government of Victoria is celebrating 20 years of trade and tourism ties with the Middle East region. The Australian state set up its Victorian Government Business Office (VGBO) in 1997 to forge and strengthen trade and investment ties with the region, which two decades later has seen Victoria’s annual exports to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region grow to AUD$ 2.49 billion (US$ 1.85 billion). Tourism and aviation links between Victoria and the region have also multiplied over the years, with Emirates Airline, Etihad Airways and Qatar Airways all flying daily to Melbourne. Emirates Airline has had a long-term relationship with Melbourne, having sponsored the famous Collingwood Football Club and the Emirates Melbourne Cup, the flagships among a portfolio of key partnerships in the state. Etihad Airways also has a strong connection with Melbourne, which is home to Australia’s Etihad Stadium, and has seen the UAE’s national carrier become the lead sponsor of Melbourne City Football Club.

Etihad Airways announced all 14 weekly flights on the popular Abu Dhabi–Sydney route will be operated with its flagship A380 aircraft, effective October 29, 2017. The current daily A380 Sydney flights will be joined by a second daily superjumbo service, upgraded from a 328-seat Boeing 777-300ER. The announcement comes as Etihad Airways marks the 10th anniversary of flying to Sydney, its first Australian destination. Featuring the carrier’s revolutionary The Residence – the world’s first three-room suite on a commercial airliner – the additional deployment of the 496-seat double decker aircraft means one of Australia’s largest cities will join London and New York as an all-A380 operation. Business and leisure travellers to and from Abu Dhabi, the airline’s operational hub, will enjoy increased capacity. The carrier will meet growing demand from the UAE and connecting cities across the Gulf region, Middle East and Europe. The Sydney – London Heathrow route, via Abu Dhabi, will also offer guests the consistency, convenience and comfort of a seamless all-A380 service in both directions. Etihad Airways’ three daily London Heathrow flights are operated with an A380. Beginning June 1, the second daily New York service will be upgraded to the superjumbo.

Etihad Airways has launched a fourth daily non-stop service between Kozhikode in Kerala and its Abu Dhabi hub offering convenient onward connections to cities worldwide. The airline is celebrating 10 years of flying to the southern Indian state with the introduction of additional flights to the destination. The extra capacity takes to 63 the total number of weekly services between Abu Dhabi and its three Kerala gateways of Kochi, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram. This represents over 30 per cent of Etihad Airways’ frequencies from across 11 Indian cities it serves. In addition, strategic Indian partner Jet Airways operates seven flights a week from Kochi to Abu Dhabi. The services largely cater to the huge expatriate population from all three Kerala cities and the surrounding areas, living and working in the Gulf region. Neerja Bhatia, Etihad Airways Vice President Indian Subcontinent, said: “With our multi-frequency scheduled flights to and from Kerala, Etihad Airways has demonstrated a commitment to this vibrant state by offering convenient global access and boosting the domestic tourism industry. We have been able to bring the world closer to this beautiful state and connect the people of Kerala to destinations in the Gulf, including our Abu Dhabi home, which has also been the base for thriving ventures by Kerala business houses. Reaching a 10-year milestone is fitting tribute to the support Etihad Airways has received from the state government of Kerala in making our operations a success.” Dr Venu Vasudevan, Principal Secretary Kerala Tourism, said: “Kerala Tourism is delighted to learn of the extra flights launched by Etihad Airways, which adds more connectivity to Kerala. We congratulate Etihad Airways on a decade of flying to Kerala and look forward …

Etihad Airways has started operating Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on the Abu Dhabi-Amman route, as part of its daily schedule between the two capitals. The new two-class Dreamliner features the airline’s next-generation Business and Economy Class cabins, featuring 299 seats — 28 in Business Class and 271 in Economy Class, representing a 65 per cent capacity increase on the route. Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways’ Chief Executive Officer, said: “Since launching flights between Abu Dhabi and Amman thirteen years ago, we have experienced huge growth and have enjoyed strong demand from both business and leisure travellers. The decision to upgrade to the Boeing 787 reflects the importance of the Jordanian market to Etihad Airways, and the sustained development of economic relations between the two countries. The UAE enjoys historic ties with Jordan and there are broader and brighter prospects for economic relations between these two Arab states, particularly through business partnerships and tourism.” Recent local reports show that the trade exchange between the two countries witnessed remarkable growth to just over Dhs3 billion, while the volume of UAE investments in Jordan rose to more than $15 billion. The Business Studios in Business Class offer direct aisle access, a fully-flat bed of up to 80.5 inches in length, and an increase of 20 per cent in personal space. Upholstered in fine Poltrona Frau leather, the Business Studio is equipped with an in-seat massage and pneumatic cushion control system which enables guests to adjust the firmness and comfort of their seat.

Etihad Airways is introducing its A380 on the Abu Dhabi-Paris route this summer as part of seasonal adjustments to the airline’s fleet deployment plan. Etihad Airways’ approximate one-way fare, including taxes and surcharges, in The Residence from Paris to Abu Dhabi is US$ 10,750; and Paris to Sydney or Melbourne is US$ 16,800. Featuring the carrier’s revolutionary The Residence – the world’s first three-room suite on a commercial airliner – the aircraft will operate on one of its twice-daily services to the French capital between July 1 and October 28. Paris becomes the airline’s latest A380 long haul destination following London, Sydney, New York and Melbourne. With the aircraft upgrade from a 328-seat Boeing 777, Etihad Airways is able to offer an all-A380 daily service from Paris to both Melbourne and Sydney via the airline’s Abu Dhabi hub. It will also support the strong connecting traffic to and from many cities across Asia and Australia including Brisbane, Perth, Bangkok, Chengdu, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Manila, Shanghai, Seychelles, Chennai, Delhi and Mumbai, together with destinations across the GCC such as Bahrain, Doha, Jeddah and Muscat. Flight EY31 has a scheduled departure time from Abu Dhabi International Airport of 0215 hrs, arriving at Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport at 0750 hrs, with the return flight EY32 leaving the French capital at 1040 hrs, arriving in Abu Dhabi at 1930 hrs. (all times listed are local). Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways Chief Executive Officer, said: “Flying our flagship product to France with additional seat capacity helps fulfil growing demand and meet our guests’ expectations for an even greater travel experience with unmatched luxury, comfort and service. “Paris is one of our …

Etihad Airways is launching a third daily flight on the Abu Dhabi – Bengaluru route, effective 26 March 2017. The triple daily schedule will provide greater choice to local passengers travelling between the two cities, and improved connectivity to destinations across the GCC, North America and Europe via the airline’s Abu Dhabi hub. The capacity increase underscores the airline’s commitment to offer guests more travel options between Abu Dhabi and key destinations across its network. With a new daily late night departure from Abu Dhabi, and early morning service from Bengaluru operated with a two-class Airbus 321, the schedule provides additional online connectivity to and from a number of destinations, including Doha, Jeddah, London, Dublin, New York and Dallas. Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways Chief Executive Officer, said: “Our expanded services between Abu Dhabi and Bengaluru are in line with Etihad Airways’ strategy to offer greater travel options when aircraft availability and market conditions permit. The extra flights to Bengaluru will cater to the strong demand between both cities, and bring closer our global network to and from Bengaluru over our Abu Dhabi hub.” Etihad Airways launched flights to Bengaluru, capital of the southern Indian state of Karnataka, in January 2011 with four services a week, rising to daily two months later. It has steadily grown capacity with additional frequencies and aircraft upgrades to its current double daily operation. More than 700,000 guests have been flown on the route over the past six years.

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, and The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) signed a landmark $1 million agreement to increase tourism to Thailand. Under the new agreement, the Abu Dhabi-based airline and TAT will jointly promote travel to Thailand from priority markets including the United Arab Emirates, UK, France, Germany, Italy, Egypt and Kuwait. The agreement was signed by Etihad Airways Vice President Marketing,  Tim Burnell, and TAT’s Deputy Governor Tanes Petsuwan at a commemorative event in Bangkok at the Executive Lounge, Grande Centre Point Terminal 21. They were joined by Etihad Airways Senior Manager Marketing, Lamya Al Nuaimi. Burnell said: “Etihad Airways has a long and proud association with Thailand – in fact Bangkok was one of our first international routes. It continues to be one of the busiest in our network enjoying strong year-round demand, particularly from the UAE, GCC, Middle East, Africa and Europe. “With five daily flights to Thailand – four to Bangkok and one to Phuket – Etihad Airways has a significant investment in Thai tourism and the new agreement with Tourism Authority of Thailand supports and extends that commitment.Through innovative joint marketing campaigns, we aim to bring hundreds of thousands of first-time and repeat travellers from Europe and the Middle East to Thailand to enjoy this beautiful country and to experience the warm, friendly hospitality for which the Thai people are world-renowned.” Bangkok continues to be one of Etihad Airways’ busiest routes – around 800,000 guests travelled to and from Bangkok in 2016 alone. In all, more than 6 million guests have flown on the airline’s Thailand routes since 2007 and further growth is expected. Tanes Petsuwan said: “Europe …

Etihad Airways’ latest Boeing 787 Dreamliner route was launched with the art aircraft touching down in Riyadh, capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The aircraft operates on one of the twice-daily flights between Abu Dhabi International Airport and Khalid International Airport. The occasion was marked with an official welcome ceremony attended by the airline’s senior management led by Hareb Almuhairy, Etihad Airways Senior Vice President Corporate and International Affairs, together with Mohammad Al Bulooki, Etihad Airways Vice President UAE and GCC Commercial, Sultan AL Mansoori, GCC Country Manager, Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority (TCA Abu Dhabi) and Adel Al Ragadi, Terminal Operation Manager, King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh. The Dreamliner offers more seats and features the airline’s award-winning interiors in a two-class configuration – 28 Business Studios, each providing aisle access and equipped with an in-seat massage and air cushion control system, and 271 Economy Smart Seats with unique ‘fixed wing’ headrests. Riyadh becomes Etihad Airways’ newest B787 destination this year following the induction of the aircraft on flights to Perth, Dusseldorf and Shanghai, with Abu Dhabi – Johannesburg set to become a Dreamliner route on 1 November. Etihad Airways’ current fleet of nine B787s also operates to Singapore, Washington DC, Brisbane and Zurich. The aircraft is equipped with full mobile and Wi-Fi services as well as the latest Panasonic eX3 in-flight entertainment system featuring seven satellite channels of live TV including BBC World News, Sport 24 and CNN to name a few.   Etihad Airways currently operates 14 weekly non-stop flights to and from Riyadh; 21 weekly services to Jeddah; 21 weekly flights to Dammam, in addition to a daily operation to Medina.

The national airline of the United Arab Emirates, Etihad Airways has signed a new code-share agreement with kulula, the award-winning low-cost carrier from South Africa. The code-share deal offers Etihad Airways customers flight options to a number of key cities in South Africa that include Cape Town, Durban, George and East London via Johannesburg. Etihad Airways will place its EY code on kulula’s scheduled flights between Johannesburg and these popular coastal cities. This agreement allows guests access to through-check-in and baggage transfer to their final destination. The new code-share services went on sale from October 3, 2016, with travel from the start of the Northern Winter schedule on 30 October. The agreement with kulula strengthens Etihad Airways’ commitment to Africa and brings the total number of destinations that it serves across the continent to 23 through its existing code-share partnerships with Kenya Airways, Royal Air Maroc, and strategic equity partner Air Seychelles. Etihad Airways currently operates scheduled services to 10 destinations in Africa, namely Johannesburg, Nairobi, Entebbe, Dar es Salaam, Khartoum, Casablanca, Rabat, Lagos, Cairo and Mahé in the Seychelles.

Etihad Airways will deploy its Boeing 787 Dreamliner on one of its twice-daily scheduled flights between Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, with effect from October 30, 2016. Flight EY317 will be operated with a B787, departing Abu Dhabi at 10:15 hrs, arriving into Riyadh at 11:15 hrs. The return flight EY318 departs Riyadh at 16:25 hrs, arriving into Abu Dhabi at 19:10 hrs. The flights will provide optimal timings for guests in Abu Dhabi and Riyadh, and convenient connections to and from destinations across key markets in Europe, Indian subcontinent, Asia and Australia. The 299-seat aircraft, configured in two classes, with 28 seats in Business and 271 in Economy. The upgrade from a single aisle Airbus A321 aircraft will cater to strong demand to and from the capital of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, offering guests more seats on a wide-body aircraft. Together with the other daily Riyadh service operated by a Boeing 777, Etihad Airways will have more than 8,700 weekly seats on the route.