Etihad increases flights to Egypt

The Abu Dhabi-based carrier will operate a total of 728 weekly flights out of Abu Dhabi this summer to global destinations, compared to 494 in the same season last year. A new service to Beijing, China that was launched on 30 March is one of the highlights of the summer schedule.

In addition to the new routes, Etihad Airways will increase the frequency of its flights to a number of key destinations within the GCC, Middle East, Europe, Indian sub-continent, Africa and the Asia Pacific region; increasing its flights to Cairo to 12 flights per week.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways' chief executive, said: "Etihad will offer air travellers from around the world significantly improved connection opportunities through our Abu Dhabi home base as we continue to add breadth, depth and additional frequency to the airline's expanding global route network.

"We're not just improving the quantity of flights but, importantly, also the quality of connections. The number of onward transfers which can now be made in less than two hours will increase by 21 per cent, while connections which can be made within two to three hours will increase by a further 13%."

Etihad's strong network across the Middle East will be strengthened further this summer, with extra weekly services from Abu Dhabi to Amman, Beirut and Damascus.