In a move that grows its
ever-expanding route network, Etihad Airways has announced a further two
destinations, totaling six for 2013.
The two new destinations
announced within a day of each other are Serbia’s capital city Belgrade, due to
start on 15th June and Sana’a in Yemen, due to start on 1st
September 2013.
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| Announcement of Abu Dhabi - Belgrade route |
Belgrade will be the middle eastern
airlines’ 17th European
destination, flying daily to the capital. As part of the new route, a new
codeshare agreement has also been signed with Serbia’s national carrier JatAirways
who will place its JU flight code on 22 of Etihad’s destinations, whilst at the
same time, Etihad will place its EY code on 23 European flights operated by
JatAirways. EY flights 71 and 72 will be a daily service using one of the
airlines’ Airbus A319 aircraft, configured in a 109 economy and 16 business
class arrangement.
The codeshare with JatAirways
is an expansion of the already successful model by Etihad Airways. Despite
still being a relatively newcomer to the aviation industry, Etihad has grown
from strength to strength by offering over 350 destinations to its customers
via a network of partnerships and codeshares.
The second destination
announced last week was Sana’a, and Etihad will offer four flights per week to
the Yemeni capital. Using a similarly configured aircraft, Etihad will operate an
Airbus A320 with 120 economy seats and 16 business class seats. The UAE is
Yemen’s largest trading partner and there are over 90,000 Yemeni nationals
living in the UAE so the new route makes sense.
Belgrade and Sana’a add to
Etihad’s 2013 destinations of Washington, DC., Amsterdam, Sao Paulo and Ho Chi
Minh City in Vietnam. There were also indications in a recent announcement made
by Etihad CEO James Hogan that a fourth and possible fifth US destination would
also be announced in 2014, adding to Washington DC, Etihad’s third US
destination.
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