Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi) has announced a number of schedule changes to the airline’s flights between its Abu Dhabi hub and Toronto (Pearson), New York (JFK), and Chicago (O’Hare), which will start on Sunday, March 29, 2015.

The move will provide convenient schedule options for passengers travelling from Canada or the US to the UAE, enhance overall connectivity for flights to and from the Indian Subcontinent (ISC), and establish new connections to key markets such as Dhaka, Kathmandu, and Kolkata.

The new times also all connect with key Etihad Airways’ ISC destinations which include Colombo, Delhi, Karachi, Lahore, and Mumbai.

The three flights a week Toronto service, flight EY 141, will now depart at 2.50 am rather than the current time 10.25 am and the daily EY 151 flight to Chicago will move from a 9.30 am departure to 3.40 am.

Return flight EY 140 from Toronto will arrive at 12.05 pm, and EY 150 from Chicago will arrive in Abu Dhabi at 12.20 pm, which will allow for faster connection times through the hub at a non-peak period.

The new schedule will see the return flight from New York, EY 102, will now depart JFK three hours later than it currently does to ensure its arrival in Abu Dhabi to meet the early afternoon bank of flights to the ISC.

Passengers on the retimed outbound Chicago flight will continue to be processed through United States Preclearance at Abu Dhabi Airport, following the recent expansion of the facility’s hours of operation to include early morning flights to the US.

US Preclearance allows passengers to conveniently pass through all required checks including US customs, immigration and security while in Abu Dhabi before they board their flight, enabling them to avoid queues on arrival in the US and arrive as domestic passengers.

Passengers on all Etihad Airways flights from Abu Dhabi to the United States, which also includes Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York JFK, and Washington DC, are processed through US preclearance.

The schedule changes for Toronto and Chicago have been made in conjunction with Etihad Airways’ key partners, Air Canada and American Airlines in North America, and Jet Airways in India.

The partner airlines will implement new codeshare flights as well as re-accommodate guests who are affected by the new schedule.

Toronto, Chicago, and New York JFK (EY101 / EY102) flight schedule changes are from March 29, 2015:

Copyright Photo: Etihad Airways Boeing 777-3FX ER A6-ETR (msn 39687) with the promotional Abu Dhabi Grand Prix Formula 1 markings taxies at London (Heathrow).

Etihad Airways aircraft slide show:

http://airlinersgallery.smugmug.com/Airlines-Asia-1/Airlines-Asia1-AE/Etihad-Airways