Passengers flying out of Australia on Etihad Airways now have the luxury of new routes and new planes, thanks to several exciting announcements from the UAE carrier.
Firstly, the airline has just announced new flights between its Abu Dhabi hub and Barcelona from November 21.
Initially, there will be five weekly flights, which will then increase to a daily service from March 31 2019.
Barcelona, Photo by Mosa Moseneke
The route, which will be served by a two-class Airbus A330-200, marks Etihad Airway’s second Spanish destination following its existing daily service to Madrid.
Chief Executive Officer Etihad Airways Peter Baumgartner said Barcelona was one of the largest unserved markets from the carrier’s Abu Dhabi base.
“Barcelona – a hub of culture, commerce, tourism, education, fashion and science, has witnessed a significant increase in travel demand from the emirate, and from across our wider network.”
Chief Executive Officer Etihad Airways Peter Baumgartner
The airline has also revealed that from the start of October it will operate the Airbus A380 on its second daily service linking Abu Dhabi and Paris Charles de Gaulle.
This will transform the airline’s operation between the UAE and French capital into a year-round all-A380 service.
“We have seized the opportunity to place our flagship Airbus A380 on our second daily flight, following the great reception the aircraft has received from our guests, and to ensure we offer product consistency on the route,” Peter Baumgartner said.
“This will also allow us to significantly increase the number of leisure and premium seats available, providing more options for those wanting to travel point-to-point between Abu Dhabi and Paris.”
From October 28 Etihad Airways will also introduce its state-of-the-art Dreamliner on one of four daily flights from Abu Dhabi to Cairo.
Meanwhile, Etihad Airways managed to improve its core operating performance by 22% in 2017, despite facing challenges including significant fuel cost increases.
Despite the increase in revenue compared to the previous year, it still must be noted that the airline posted losses of $AU2.01 billion.
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