UAE’s flag carrier Etihad Airways will increase its Melbourne and Sydney services from five-per-week to daily from March 27, 2022, offering a total of 14 weekly flights between Abu Dhabi and Australia.
The daily services will be operated using Etihad’s fleet of Boeing 787 aircraft in a two-cabin configuration and along with the airline’s partnership with Virgin Australia, have been timed to offer passengers a combination of morning and evening departures.
The additional flights will also increase cargo capacity between Abu Dhabi and Australia to 240 tonnes a week, supporting the flow of international trade to and from the states of 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 boost vital trade and tourism ties while providing guests with convenient travel options to Abu Dhabi and beyond to the rest of Etihad’s network,” Built said.
“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.”