Etihad Airways to bring Formula 1 to Arabian Travel Market

To mark its recent sponsorships of the Scuderia Ferrari F1 team and the Abu Dhabi Etihad Airways F1 Grand Prix, which comes to the UAE capital next year, the airline will display a life-size replica of a Formula 1 racing car on its stand throughout the four-day exhibition.

Geert Boven, Etihad Airways' executive vice president of sales and services, said: "Our recent tie-up with Ferrari together with the title sponsorship rights we have secured for the UAE's first ever Grand Prix race in 2009 is generating massive international exposure for both Etihad Airways and the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. We anticipate huge excitement as visitors get a chance to see up close just what a Formula 1 racing car looks like".

The Abu Dhabi-based airline's eye-catching stand will also feature the airline's award-winning first class and business class seats alongside displays on Etihad's newest destination of Beijing and exciting line-up of new routes set to be launched later this year.

The airline in the summer will begin flying to Kozhikode (Calicut) and Chennai (Madras), after securing flying rights earlier this year to four new destinations in India.

Etihad is currently finalising when it will commence flights to the two other Indian destinations of Jaipur and Kolkata (Calcutta).

The airline also plans to fly to Moscow and the Kazakh city of Almaty in December 2008 and to the Belarus capital of Minsk early next year.

Alongside the fully-flat business class and rotating first class seats, Etihad will have interactive demonstrations of the many rewards and benefits of its industry-acclaimed Etihad Guest loyalty programme.

Launched in August 2006, Etihad Guest now boasts more than 350,000 members worldwide and expects to exceed the half million mark by the end of 2008.

Members of the Etihad Holidays team will also be on hand to discuss recent developments.

The airline's rapidly expanding holiday division has recently unveiled its new summer brochure and also re-launched its website, which now incorporates new features such as location maps, as well as the latest special offers.

Mr Boven added: "Etihad Airways is tremendously proud of its Arabic heritage, and we're looking forward to showcasing the best of our wares at this year's Arabian Travel Market. Through our expanding global network of destinations, award-winning services and products, industry-recognised loyalty programme and exciting new sports sponsorships, Etihad is building a word-class brand and cementing its position as one of the world's top airlines".

Etihad Airways will be exhibiting at stand UAE 310 in the Middle East hall.