Etihad Airways is launching flights from Abu Dhabi to Beijing on March 30, connecting with services from London Heathrow and Manchester.
The four flights a week service will be Etihad’s first in China. In the Asia Pacific region, it already flies to Brisbane, Sydney, Manila, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Bangkok.
Etihad will operate a two class Airbus A330-200 configured to carry 262 passengers with 22 in business class and 240 in economy class between Abu Dhabi and Beijing.
Flights will operate every Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Sunday with EY888 departing from Abu Dhabi at 11.45pm and arriving in Beijing at 11.30am the next day.
Return flight EY889 departs from Beijing every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday at 7.10pm arriving in Abu Dhabi at 00.20am the next day.
The flight times connect conveniently with the airline’s morning, afternoon and evening services from Heathrow and a daily service from Manchester.
Chief executive James Hogan said: “Beijing has established itself as one of the world’s fastest growing and most popular destinations and we anticipate tremendous demand for this new Etihad service from customers across our global network.
“There is a huge appetite from business and leisure travellers for flights to Beijing, especially ahead of the 2008 Olympic Games”
By Bev Fearis
