Etihad Airways is celebrating 15 years of flying to and from Australia since it first launched flights in 2007. Last week, the airline held a glitzy event for the trade at Sydney’s MCA announcing new economy and business class offerings and the launch of its new Airbus A350.
Etihad Airways celebrated its 15th anniversary in Australia with guests in Sydney last week, with a grand event at the MCA, sharing the hottest news straight out of Abu Dhabi.
The event provided the perfect place to reconnect and treated guests to an emotive performance by Christine Anu and her daughter Zipporah Mary Corser.
Etihad’s vice president of sales for Australia, Sarah Built, opened the event by sharing how delighted she was to have so many friends of Etihad join in celebrating the major milestone.
She raised a glass and toasted to “a bright future, filled with travel to amazing destinations and welcoming guests back to Australia after the challenges of the last two years.”
Built said Covid aside, much has changed for Etihad over the years. She said the airline is different now, with different ambitions and strategies, “but one thing that hasn’t changed is our commitment to Australia and its role as one of our most important markets globally.”
“When I look back at the last fifteen years of Etihad in Australia my overwhelming feeling is that of gratitude to everyone who has supported our establishment and development in this market.
“Our trade partners, our corporate clients, our industry partners, our frequent flyers and the many friends who have supported us and helped to write our story here, embracing us as one of the top airlines serving the country.”
She concluded her speech with the sentiment that, although the airline’s footprint may be smaller, its commitment and ambition remain as strong as ever.
Martin Drew, Senior Vice President of Sales & Cargo at Etihad, spoke on the airline’s commitment to continue to develop propositions to support the normalisation of travel, such as launching Home Check-In and Verified To Fly to give people that much-needed peace of mind when flying again.
He said the agile approach Etihad has been taking allowed it to not only launch and restart operations but to jump on seasonal demand by launching special flights to destinations such as Santorini, Zanzibar, Nice and Malaga – which are all new destinations guests can explore.
He also talked about the new and improved guest experience for economy and business class travellers, sustainability being a leading factor in the airline’s goals moving forward, and the new Airbus A350-1000.
On Friday, Etihad Airways unveiled its new Airbus A350-1000, registration A6-XWB, on a special inaugural commercial flight from Abu Dhabi to Paris.
The aircraft is the first A350 to be operated by a UAE airline and the first of five A350s set to join Etihad’s fleet over the coming months.
The first flight departed Abu Dhabi for Paris Charles de Gaulle at 7.30 am, landing at 1:14 pm.
The aircraft, named Sustainability50, carries a unique livery in recognition of the 50th anniversary of the federation of the UAE and Etihad’s commitment to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
“Our teams have worked closely together to craft a product, and travel proposition that will ensure every journey with Etihad is a choice well made – both for our guests and for the planet,” Tony Douglas, Group Chief Executive Officer, commented.
Visit www.etihad.com for more.