CANBERRA – Etihad Airways has secured seven additional weekly flight frequencies from its Abu Dhabi home-base to Australia.
The additional flights were awarded following bilateral negotiations between the UAE and Australian Government in Canberra this week.
The seven flights can be operated to any gateway in Australia which includes Etihad’s current destinations of Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne.
A further seven weekly flights have been granted to Etihad on the condition that the operation also flies via or onto a regional airport.
Dubai-based Emirates failed to gain extra slots in the latest round of talks.
James Hogan, Etihad CEO, said: “The announcement that Etihad Airways has been granted up to 14 additional flights each week is an indication of the airline’s deepening bond with Australia.â€
Etihad currently flies 21 times a week between Abu Dhabi and Australia. This includes 11 flights to Sydney, seven to Melbourne and three to Brisbane. The new flight slots will available from March 2011.
Following the announcement of the new agreement, Etihad has access to a total of 42 flights a week in to Australia, 35 direct to gateways and seven via or onto regional hubs.
Since launching its first flights to Sydney in 2007 Etihad has carried 787,000 passengers to and from Australia.
