Etihad ups Johannesburg flights to daily
Etihad Airways will launch daily flights on 1 August between its Abu Dhabi home base and Johannesburg.
Etihad began flying to the commercial capital of South Africa twice a week in December 2005 and the route has proved immensely popular with business and leisure air travellers.
Much of the demand for the service to increase to a daily flight has come from the expanding South African community that lives and works in the Gulf. There are currently an estimated 100,000 South African nationals living throughout the Gulf region, out of which an estimated 20,000 live in the UAE.
Geert Boven, Etihad Airways’ executive vice president sales and services, said: “Etihad’s base in Abu Dhabi provides a natural air-bridge linking the Gulf communities and Etihad’s network to South Africa.
“The demand for daily flights between Abu Dhabi and Johannesburg has grown considerably during the past 12 months whether it is UAE-based South Africans flying home with Etihad or holidaymakers visiting South Africa.

Etihad to launch flights to Nepal
Etihad Airways will start a four flights-a-week service from its Abu Dhabi home base to the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, in October.
The flights will provide a valuable link for the 90,000 Nepalese nationals living in the UAE as well as the growing demand from leisure travellers looking to sample Nepal’s ancient culture and the world-famous Himalayas.
Kathmandu will join Etihad’s expanding network across the Indian subcontinent which includes Dhaka, Delhi, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Mumbai, Karachi, Islamabad, Peshawar and Lahore. James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ chief executive, said: “Etihad continues to provide our customers with frequent flights and connections to the world’s leading capital cities and population centres. The Kathmandu service will be enormously popular with the UAE’s Nepalese community as well as leisure travellers flying with Etihad from Europe and North America.”
Tourism in Nepal has developed considerably in recent years with thousands of travellers visiting the country each year to enjoy its spectacular scenery, wildlife and Everest, the world's highest mountain.
Etihad will operate a two cabin Airbus A330-200 between Abu Dhabi and Kathmandu configured to carry 262 passengers, with 22 in business class and 240 in economy.

Etihad to discontinue Colombo flights
Etihad Airways will discontinue its services to Colombo from 9 September.

Demand grows for India services
Following the successful launch of its Kochi (Cochin) and Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum) services, Etihad Airways continues to attract growing numbers of Kerala-based customers. Services to Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram started at the beginning of June and since then passenger figures on both routes have averaged more than 90 per cent across economy and business class.
Etihad also operates daily flights to Delhi and Mumbai and Etihad will look to boost its network further during the next 12 months as bilateral talks with the Indian government continue.

Etihad introduces first A340-600 aircraft
Etihad Airways has taken delivery of its first three-cabin Airbus A340-600, the world’s longest commercial passenger aircraft. The four-engine aircraft, which has an overall length of 75.3 metres and range of 14,600 kilometres, is the first of Etihad’s four A340-600s scheduled for delivery in 2007.
It is also the high gross weight model which offers a maximum takeoff weight of 380 tonnes.
James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ chief executive, said: “The introduction of our first A340-600 will make a significant impact to our long haul destinations like Sydney, New York and Toronto because it can carry 46 more passengers than the A340-500 which we currently use on these routes.”

Etihad to launch Brisbane flights in September
Etihad Airways will start a three flights-a-week service in September to the Australian city of Brisbane from Abu Dhabi.
Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland which is home to the world-famous Gold Coast, will be Etihad’s second destination in Australia following the highly successful Sydney route which started in March.

Etihad Dublin flights set for take off
Final preparations are underway for the launch of Etihad Airways’ latest destination, the Irish capital Dublin.
Etihad will operate four flights-a-week from Abu Dhabi to Dublin from 2 July, which will be the eighth European city on the airline’s rapidly expanding global network of flights.