Etihad celebrates 15 years in Australia revealing product updates as A350 debuts

Etihad celebrates 15 years in Australia revealing product updates as A350 debuts
By Alexandra Coulton


Etihad Airways celebrated its 15 year Aussie anniversary with a special soirée at Sydney’s MCA last night, announcing an upcoming refresh of its economy and business products and the launch of its Airbus A350.

Speaking at the lavish event, Etihad’s vice president of sales for Australia, Sarah Built, toasted to a bright future filled with travel to amazing destinations.

“The last time we gathered together was late 2019 and of course, we had no idea of what was on the horizon,” Built said.

“Whilst COVID might not be quite finished with us yet, and we know it’s going to take time to recover to pre-pandemic levels, the good news is that there is huge pent up demand and people are very eager to be able to travel again.”

According to Built, Etihad saw a surge in bookings as soon as borders opened and urged attendees to help keep that momentum going.

“So tonight, we’re here to catch up again, to recalibrate and to look to the future. But most importantly, we’re here to celebrate,” she continued.

The airline’s celebrations at Sydney’s MCA on Thursday night featured a touching performance from Christine Anu and her daughter Zipporah Mary Corser

Etihad’s senior vice president for sales and cargo, Martin Drew revealed the airline will be unveiling updates to its product and guest experience this year.

“Our goal this year is to evolve our economy product to a more contemporary functional and sustainable offering, which includes everything from the dining equipment to packaging to service items to soft furnishings,” he said.

The updated economy product is expected to be launched in May and rolled out by the end of this year, followed by the launch of a new business class experience.

The airline also launched its Airbus A350 on Thursday night with a special one-off flight from Abu Dhabi to Paris at 7:30am local time, landing at Charles De Gaulle Airport at 1:14pm.

 

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“This incredible latest-generation aircraft is simply a joy to fly as a passenger, and being made up of 70 per cent composite material and brand new technology, these are incredibly efficient aircraft and really support our sustainability agenda,” Drew said.

“The deployment plan for this aircraft for q2 where we’ll operate it regionally. And then from q3, we’ll be putting on longer-haul routes, including Chicago and New York, and then for q4, London.”

Etihad launched daily flights between the UAE capital, Abu Dhabi, and Sydney on 27 March 2007, followed by Brisbane in September, Melbourne in 2009 and Perth in 2014.

At its peak, Etihad was operating 42 weekly flights between Australia and Abu Dhabi, before the airline was forced to reduce operations in the country due to the pandemic.

On 27 March 2022, 15 years to the day since the launch of its inaugural Australian flight, Etihad increased its Melbourne and Sydney services to daily operations offering 14 weekly flights between Abu Dhabi and Australia, with two-way connectivity to Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The airline’s loyalty program, Etihad Guest, will celebrate the milestone anniversary this weekend with an entire specially-chartered 787 Dreamliner flying over 100 members and their lucky plus-ones for an exclusive trip of a lifetime to Etihad’s home, Abu Dhabi.

Members selected for the flight will also be gifted the ultimate reunion, with Etihad Guest to fly in their far-flung loved ones to Abu Dhabi from destinations across its network, including the UK, Europe and North America.

Featured image: Sarah Built addressing attendees at Etihad’s 15-year anniversary celebration in Sydney’s MCA 

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