Etihad increases flight schedules and destinations for summer

Travellers from Qatar will be offered two flights per day by the Abu Dhabi-based carrier which will operate a total of 728 weekly flights through Abu Dhabi this summer to more than 46 global destinations.

One of the highlights of the summers is the launch of new flights on 1st of August 2008 to Kozhikode (Calicut) and Chennai (Madras) which is accompanied by the new flights to Beijing earlier launched in March.

The addition of the two new cities brings the number of Indian destinations served by Etihad to 6 and follows successful bi-lateral talks between the governments of the UAE and India, aimed at further liberalising flying links between the two countries.

These talks also saw Etihad awarded traffic rights to two further cities in India, Kolkata (Calcutta) and Jaipur. The airline is finalising the launch dates for these additional destinations.

Etihad currently operates 28 flights a week from the UAE to India, with flights from Abu Dhabi to the commercial capital Mumbai, the national capital New Delhi and also Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) and Kochi (Cochin) in the southern Indian state of Kerala.

Subject to governmental approvals, the airline is pushing to secure further traffic rights from Abu Dhabi to Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bangalore and Hyderabad.

New routes 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 from Qatar to Abu Dhabi to two flights per day.

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.

In addition to increased flights and schedules, Etihad Airways has also opened a new dedicated business class lounge at its Abu Dhabi airport home base which offers the airline's business class customers of state-of-the-art relaxation and entertainment facilities in along with around-the-clock dining.

The new business class lounge includes a "wi-fi" area, library, relaxation zone, "well-being" spa, hi-tech electronic games room, smoker's lounge and gallery showcasing work by local Arab artists.