Etihad Airways to add a second daily flight to New York, Etihad Regional is unveiled and expands operations

Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi) will double its flights between Abu Dhabi and New York City, introducing a second daily service from Saturday, March 1, 2014.

Flight EY 103 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.

In other news, Etihad Regional, operated by Darwin Airline (Lugano and Geneva), unveiled yesterday (January 16) its first painted 50-seat SAAB 2000. All aircraft are expected to be repainted by the end of June. Etihad Airways is acquiring a 33 percent stake in the regional carrier.

Etihad Regional will expand to 34 destinations. Stuttgart will be added next month, followed by Berlin, Dusseldorf, London (City), Poznan, Tirana, Toulouse, Wroclaw, Zagreb and Zurich in April. Next will be Belgrade and Turin in May and finally Bordeaux, Graz, Linz, Marseille, Nantes and Verona in June.

With these additions Etihad Regional will feed the seven Etihad Airways gateways in Europe.

Top Copyright Photo: Greenwing/AirlinersGallery.com. Etihad Airways’ Boeing 777-3FX ER A6-ETC (msn 34599) in the special Abu Dhabi Grand Prix markings taxies at Dublin.

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