15 Jan 2014 11:00
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, will double its flights between Abu Dhabi and New York City, introducing a second daily service from Saturday, March 1, 2014.
Flight EY103 will depart Abu Dhabi International
Airport at 1.45 am, arriving at New York’s John F Kennedy Airport at 7.45 am
the same day, while the return flight, EY102, will leave New York at 11.35 am,
arriving in Abu Dhabi at 9.20 am the next day.
The new flights will complement the airline’s
current 10.30 am departure to New York, providing a choice of services for Abu
Dhabi’s business, Government, expatriate and leisure travellers, while
passengers travelling from New York to Abu Dhabi and beyond will now have the
option of a late morning flight as well as the current 9.40 pm departure.
Initially, the new flights will be operated by
Etihad Airways using two tri-class Boeing 777-300ER aircraft leased from its
strategic partner, India’s Jet Airways. From May 1, 2014, Jet Airways will
operate these flights.
The second New York service will increase
substantially the connections available via the Abu Dhabi Airport hub, with the
schedule designed to link in both directions with Etihad Airways and partner
airline flights between Abu Dhabi and more than 30 destinations in India, the
Middle East, Central and South East Asia, Africa and island nations in the
Indian Ocean region.
Beyond New York, guests also will be able to
connect in both directions with destinations throughout the US, and in Canada
and Mexico.
“New York City is one of the most popular
destinations in our network, not only for guests flying from Abu Dhabi but also
for business, leisure and family travellers from a wide range of connecting
destinations,” said James Hogan, President and Chief Executive Officer of
Etihad Airways.
“These services will provide greater access to New
York City for travellers from Abu Dhabi and further evidence of the importance
of Abu Dhabi as a global air transport hub,” Mr Hogan said.
“The flights also will open fresh opportunities for
tourism to the UAE, and beyond to destinations throughout the Middle East, the
Indian sub-continent, Asia, Africa, and the island nations of the Indian Ocean.”
In addition to the increased New York flights, Etihad
Airways recently announced plans to commence services to two new US
destinations, Los Angeles daily from June 2014 and Dallas-Fort Worth three
times a week from December 2014.
The airline also flies daily between Abu Dhabi and
both Washington, D.C. and Chicago.