Tag Archives: Abu Dhabi

Lufthansa to drop service to Abu Dhabi next summer

Lufthansa (Frankfurt) has announced it will drop its daily route from Frankfurt to Abu Dhabi, the home of Etihad Airways. The route will be dropped on March 29, 2015. The German airline has been getting increased price competition from Etihad and its partner Airberlin (Berlin) on the route.

The route is operated with Airbus A330-300s.

Copyright Photo: Brian McDonough/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A330-343 D-AIKJ (msn 701) arrives at Washington’s Dulles International Airport.

Lufthansa Aircraft Slide Show:

Etihad Airways to introduce the Boeing 787-9 and Airbus A380 both on December 27

Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi) is now planning to introduce the new Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on December 27 on the Abu Dhabi-Dusseldorf and Abu Dhabi-Doha routes per Airline Route. The new type will also be operated to Brisbane (starting on June 1, 2015), Moscow (Domodedovo) (starting on June 1, 2015), Mumbai (starting on January 1, 2015) and Washington (Dulles) (starting on January 1, 2015).

Etihad is also scheduling the Airbus A380 inaugural flight from Abu Dhabi to London (Heathrow) also on December 27.

Copyright Photo: Bernie Leighton/AirlinersGallery.com. This overhead view shows Boeing 787-9 A6-BLA (msn 39646) being prepared for its formal delivery to the carrier.

Etihad Airways:

Etihad Airways to launch nonstop Abu Dhabi-Hong Kong flights on June 15, 2015 and five other destinations

Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi) has announced the launch of a four times per week service between Abu Dhabi and Hong Kong starting on June 15, 2015.

The new flights will complement the existing services offered by Etihad Airways’ codeshare and network partner, Air Seychelles, ensuring a daily frequency between the two cities, and bringing the combined number of weekly seats offered on the route to 3,620.

Hong Kong will become Etihad Airways’ seventh destination in Northeast Asia and its fourth destination in China joining Beijing, Chengdu and Shanghai.

Etihad Airways will operate a two-class Airbus A330-200 aircraft, configured to carry 262 passengers, with 22 seats in Business Class and 240 seats in Economy Class, offering a total of 2,096 seats per week.

The airline has also announced five other new routes for the first half of 2015, starting with Kolkata on February 15, Madrid on March 29, Entebbe on May 1, Edinburgh on June 8 and Algiers on June 17.

Copyright Photo: Andi Hiltl/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A330-243 A6-EYD (msn 658) taxies at Zurich with the special promotional “Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2014 Formula 1” markings.

Etihad Airways:

Niki to fly daily Vienna-Abu Dhabi flights starting on November 24

Niki (flyniki.com) (Vienna) on November 24 will launch a new long-range daily route from Vienna to Abu Dhabi, the hub of partner Etihad Airways, following in the path of owner Airberlin (Berlin). The six-hour flight will be operated with Airbus A320 aircraft.

Niki:

Airberlin to introduce a daily flight from Stuttgart to Abu Dhabi on December 1

Airberlin (airberlin.com) (Berlin) is adding another feeder route to its partner Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi). Airberlin will introduce a daily flight between Stuttgart and Abu Dhabi on December 1, 2014, opening up 41 onward travel destinations for flight guests.

The new Abu Dhabi route, still subject to government and regulatory approvals, is Airberlin’s first long-haul destination from Stuttgart. The service will be operated by an Airbus A320 aircraft configured with 12 seats in Business Class and 132 in Economy Class.

Altogether, airberlin will offer 63 flights per week this coming winter season from Germany to Abu Dhabi jointly with Etihad Airways, flying twice daily from Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich, as well as daily from Stuttgart.

Copyright Photo: Bernhard Ross/AirlinersGallery.com. With the upcoming FIFA World Cup in Brazil, Airberlin has decorated its Airbus A320-214 D-ABFK (msn 4433) in this special “Fan Force One Bitburger” color scheme. D-ABFK taxies at Frankfurt.

Airberlin:

Etihad Airways arrives in Los Angeles

Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi) today (June 1) launched its new daily EY 171 service between Abu Dhabi (AUH) and Los Angeles (LAX).

Los Angeles is Etihad Airways’ fourth US destination, joining Chicago (O’Hare), New York (JFK) and Washington, D.C. (Dulles) on the airline’s expanding network. This will increase further on December 3, 2014 with the addition of nonstop flights to Dallas/Fort Worth.

Guests and their checked-in baggage flying from Abu Dhabi are also processed through all new US immigration, customs and agriculture inspections, before boarding the aircraft, eliminating the need to do so on arrival in the US.

The aircraft initially serving the new Los Angeles route is a three-cabin, long-range Airbus 340-500 (A6-EHA) which can accommodate 240 guests with 12 First Class suites, 28 Business Class flatbed seats, and 200 Economy Class seats.

In mid-July, the service will transition to a three-cabin, long-range Boeing 777-200 LR which will be configured with 237 seats, including eight First Class suites, 40 Business Class flatbed seats, and 189 Economy Class seats.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Airbus A340-541 A6-EHA (msn 748) had the honor of operating the first flight to LAX.

Etihad Airways:

Air Seychelles to resume services to Paris on July 2

Air Seychelles (Mahe) has announced it will resume flights to Paris (CDG) on July 2, 2014.

The flag carrier will operate two weekly roundtrips from the Seychelles to Paris via Abu Dhabi, with Air Seychelles deploying its brightly-colored Airbus A330-200 aircraft (above) on the route, offering 18 lie-flat seats in Business Class and 236 seats in Economy Class.

Partner Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi) will also place its EY code on the flights.

Copyright Photo: Rainer Bexten/AirlinersGallery.com. Leased from Etihad Airways, Airbus A330-243 A6-EYY (msn 751) completes its final approach into Johannesburg (JNB).

Air Seychelles:

Jet Airways starts Hyderabad-Abu Dhabi service on March 1

Jet Airways (Mumbai) launched a new daily nonstop service from Hyderabad to Abu Dhabi staring on March 1, 2014.

Jet Airways flight 9W 550 departed Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at 2025 and arrived in Abu Dhabi International Airport at 2310 (LT). On the return leg, the flight 9W 549 will depart Abu Dhabi at 1045 (LT) and arrive in Hyderabad at 1610.

Jet Airways currently operates a daily flight each from Delhi, Kochi and Chennai and 11 flights a week from Mumbai to Abu Dhabi.

The airline will deploy Boeing 737-800 aircraft on the new route.

Jet Airways:

SWAPA opposes pre-clearance at Abu Dhabi for Etihad Airways’ flights to the USA

Southwest Airlines‘ (Dallas) pilots, represented by the Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Association (SWAPA) have issued this statement opposing the Customs and Border Patrol’s new Pre-Clearance located at the Abu Dhabi International Airport:

Today (January 24) marks a sad day for the U.S. airline industry, as the Southwest Airlines Pilots’ Association (SWAPA) learned that the first flight from Abu Dhabi to the United States was operated utilizing the Customs and Border Patrol’s Pre-Clearance facility located at the Abu Dhabi airport.

Both the U.S. airlines and their associated labor groups opposed the investment of U.S. taxpayer money into a facility that will only benefit foreign carriers. No U.S. airline presently operates a single flight at Abu Dhabi, and the lone benefactor from this is the state-owned Etihad Airlines. The traffic rate at the Abu Dhabi airport for U.S.-bound passengers is less than 200 per day on average, making this a poor investment of U.S. taxpayers’ increasingly limited resources.

The facility was funded earlier this month through the $1 trillion-plus omnibus spending bill, a gigantic measure which received very little debate. The Abu Dhabi facility provision received very little attention — let alone the scrutiny it deserves — particularly while there remains pending legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives that would block funding for this facility. H.R. 3488 introduced by Rep. Patrick Meehan [R-PA7] has 142 bipartisan co-sponsors. With this measure in motion and despite an increasing throng of voices in opposition, the Department of Homeland Security still opened operations with this first flight today.

“Southwest pilots stand together with industry and labor partners to express our dismay at the federal government’s regrettable actions in choosing to open this unnecessary pre-clearance facility at Abu Dhabi,” said Captain Mark Richardson, SWAPA President. “We are more than willing to compete against any airline in the world, including state-sponsored Middle East entities. However, Middle East entities that already enjoy generous state sponsorship should not receive additional government support from the U.S. taxpayer. We oppose our own government tilting the playing field further against U.S. airlines.”

Southwest Airlines:

Boeing to work with Etihad Airways and others to develop a sustainable aviation biofuel in the United Arab Emirates

Boeing (Chicago), Etihad Airways (Abu Dhabi), Takreer, Total and the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology today announced they will collaborate on a new initiative to support a sustainable aviation biofuel industry in the United Arab Emirates.

BIOjet Abu Dhabi: Flight Path to Sustainability will engage a broad range of stakeholders to develop a comprehensive framework for a U.A.E. biofuel supply chain. This initiative will focus on research and development and investments in feedstock production and refining capability in the U.A.E. and globally.

Etihad Airways showed the promise of this homegrown effort yesterday with a 45-minute demonstration flight in a Boeing 777 powered in part by U.A.E.-produced sustainable aviation biofuel. The biofuel was partially converted from plants by Total and refined into jet fuel by Takreer, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC). U.A.E. is now among a handful of countries that have produced and flown on their own aviation biofuel, which emits at least 50 percent less carbon dioxide than fossil fuel over its lifecycle.

Boeing and Etihad Airways are also among the founding partners of the Sustainable Bioenergy Research Consortium, hosted by the Masdar Institute in Abu Dhabi. The consortium has been researching and developing salt-tolerant plants that would be raw material for the same refining processes used to produce renewable fuel for the Etihad Airways flight.

The flight and BIOjet Abu Dhabi announcement lead into Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week and the World Future Energy Summit. These activities and Masdar Institute’s aviation biofuel research are aligned with the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, which seeks to develop sustainable energy sources to diversify the U.A.E. economy and increase workforce opportunities for Emiratis.

Etihad Airways is an airline industry leader in supporting the development of lower-carbon renewable fuels. A member of the Sustainable Aviation Fuel Users Group (SAFUG), the airline operated the Gulf region’s first biofuel flight in January 2011 with a Boeing 777 delivery from Seattle to Abu Dhabi powered by a blend of petroleum-based and certified plant oil-based jet fuel.

Boeing collaborates with airlines, research institutions, governments and other stakeholders to develop sustainable biofuel supply chains around the world, including the United States, Middle East, China,Brazil, Europe and Australia.

Copyright Photo: Michael B. Ing/AirlinersGallery.com. Etihad Airways’ Boeing 777-3FX ER A6-ETG (msn 39681) with special “Abu Dhabi Grand Prix 2014 Formula 1” emblems arrives in Bangkok.

Etihad Airways: