Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi) is now flying to Dallas/Fort Worth. DFW issued this statement:

Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport yesterday (December 3) welcomed Etihad Airways and its new service from Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) with DFW’s traditional “shower of affection” water cannon salute from the Airport’s Department of Public Safety. Etihad Airways now offers direct service between Abu Dhabi and DFW with Boeing 777-200 LR aircraft operating three days per week on Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays, with daily service scheduled to start on April 16, 2015. The flight is estimated to bring in an additional $90 million to the North Texas economy with three times a week service, and about $200 million per year once daily service begins.

The new service continues DFW’s recent wave of international expansion, as the airport has added 18 new international destinations in the past four years. With the addition of the new Etihad service, DFW now hosts 23 airlines and 55 direct international destinations and continues to be only one of seven airports in the world with over 200 direct destinations.

Unique about the service from Abu Dhabi to DFW is that arriving passengers can be pre-screened by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) before boarding their flight in Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi is one of only a few airports outside of the United States to offer an onsite U.S. CBP facility. Once cleared by CBP in Abu Dhabi, travelers check their baggage to their final U.S. destination. Upon landing at DFW, passengers can proceed directly to their next connection or destination without having to process through DFW’s Customs and Immigration Hall, because they were pre-cleared in Abu Dhabi.

Copyright Photo: James Helbock/AirlinersGallery.com. Leased from Air India, Boeing 777-237 LR (Longer Range) A6-LRB (msn 36301) arrives in Los Angeles.

Etihad Airways aircraft slide show:

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