Etihad To Launch Six New Routes In First Half Of 2015

Etihad Airways will launch six new routes in the first half of 2015, increasing its total number of routes to 107, an announcement by the airline said.

During next year, daily flights will commence to Madrid (Spain), Edinburgh (Scotland), Kolkata (India) and Entebbe (Uganda).

Source: Etihad Airways

The airline will also operate four flights a week to Hong Kong and three flights a week to Algeria’s largest city, Algiers.

In addition, Etihad Airways’ existing daily flights to Brisbane (Australia), currently operated via Singapore, will become a direct service from June 2015, offering the first non-stop connection between the city and Abu Dhabi.

Further service upgrades in June 2015 include the introduction of a three-class Airbus A330-300 aircraft on daily flights to Singapore, and a three-class Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on daytime flights to Moscow, marking the debut of First Class cabins on both of the existing routes.

According to the president and CEO of Etihad Airways, James Hogan, the new destinations have been selected to expand the airline’s coverage and strengthen its customer proposition in the strategically important markets of Europe, Asia and Africa.

“The expansion will also create new opportunities to enhance our codeshare agreements and align operations with key airline partners, such as Virgin Australia, Jet Airways, Air Seychelles, Air Europa and Kenya Airways. Between Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong, for instance, our four weekly flights will combine with Air Seychelles’ three weekly flights to provide a daily frequency,” Mr. Hogan added.

Etihad Airways’ global passenger and cargo network will increase to 107 destinations following the route expansion in the first half of 2015 and will include five new routes already launched this year to Medina, Jaipur, Zurich, Los Angeles and Yerevan, together with four upcoming services to Perth, Rome, Phuket and Dallas, which commence over the remainder of 2014.