From March 27, 2022, the UAE’s flag airline Etihad Airways will boost its Melbourne and Sydney services from five to daily, bringing the total number of weekly flights between Abu Dhabi and Australia to 14.
The daily services will be operated by Etihad’s Boeing 787 aircraft in a two-cabin configuration and will give customers a mix of morning and evening departures thanks to the airline’s cooperation with Virgin Australia.
The extra flights will also boost cargo capacity between Abu Dhabi and Australia to 240 tonnes per week, helping to enhance international trade between Victoria and New South Wales.
“Etihad is excited to ramp up services to Melbourne and Sydney at the end of March, and it’s the perfect timing given the reopening of Australia’s borders and Etihad celebrating 15 years of operations to Australia,” Etihad’s vice president of sales for Australia and New Zealand Sarah Built.
“Etihad’s combined double-daily flights to eastern Australia will strengthen important trade and tourist links while offering guests easy travel options to Abu Dhabi and beyond,” Built added.
“Close to 900,000 travelers flew with Etihad to and from Australia in 2019, with Melbourne and Sydney both being some of the best-performing routes in Etihad’s global network, and Etihad is confident that the market will continue to recover as Covid-19 recedes.”