Etihad to go double-daily between Abu Dhabi and Sydney

Etihad to go double-daily between Abu Dhabi and Sydney
By Daisy Melwani


Etihad Airways will increase capacity between Abu Dhabi and Australia from February 2017.

The airline announced today it will add three weekly flights between its home base in Abu Dhabi and Sydney to operate a double-daily schedule from 6 February 2017, taking it up from 4 to 7 flights a week.

The morning departure from Abu Dhabi on EY450 and the afternoon departure from Sydney on EY451, will be added following the strategic move by partner airline, Virgin Australia to cease its three times weekly Sydney-Abu Dhabi flights after 4 February 2017, instead introducing three services each week between Perth and Abu Dhabi using Airbus A330-200 aircraft from 9 June 2017.

Expanding the codeshare agreement, Etihad Airways will add its EY code to Virgin Australia’s new three weekly Perth-Abu Dhabi flights.

The combined impact of the additional Sydney capacity and new codeshare with Virgin Australia is an increase in the UAE flag carrier’s Australian footprint from a total of 42 to 45 weekly flights.

“From mid-2017, business and leisure travellers on the Perth route will enjoy the convenience of 10 weekly non-stop flights to our Abu Dhabi hub and seamless connectivity to more than 55 cities across Etihad Airways’ global network,” Etihad Airways’ Chief Executive Officer, Peter Baumgartner said.

Etihad Airways will operate its three new weekly Sydney services at the same timings as Virgin Australia’s current Sydney-Abu Dhabi flights, on which Etihad Airways has placed its EY code since they began in February 2011.

“The allocation of our newest equipment, the A380 and B787, to all four Australian gateways, and investment of our next-generation product and service offering demonstrate our commitment to this highly competitive market,” Baumgartner said.

 

Among the new two-way connected markets for Perth are Athens, Beirut, Geneva, Istanbul, and a number of African destinations including Dar es Salaam, Entebbe, Khartoum and Nairobi.

The additional Sydney flights will be operated by a three-class Boeing 777-300ER, the aircraft type operating the current EY450/451 pattern. The aircraft is configured with eight seats in First Class, 40 in Business Class and 280 in Economy Class.

Schedule for Abu Dhabi-Sydney, effective 6 February 2017

Flight No.OriginDepartsDestinationArrivesFrequencyAircraft
EY454Abu Dhabi (AUH)22:15Sydney

(SYD)

19:15+1DailyA380
EY455Sydney

(SYD)

21:50Abu Dhabi (AUH)05:40+1DailyA380
EY450Abu Dhabi (AUH)09:25Sydney

(SYD)

06:15+1DailyB777-300ER
EY451Sydney

(SYD)

16:20Abu Dhabi (AUH)23:55DailyB777-300ER

NB: All departures and arrivals are listed in local time.

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