Etihad Airways Increases Capacity on Three Asian Routes

Etihad Airways has increased capacity on three Asian routes to accommodate the growing demand.

Flights between Abu Dhabi and the two major two Chinese cities of Shanghai and Chengdu have been upgraded with Boeing 787 Dreamliners, while the South Korean city of Seoul has been boosted from a Boeing 787 to an Airbus A380.

“Asia-Pacific is the fastest growing air transport region in the world, and China is the fastest-growing individual market,” said Robin Kamark, Chief Commercial Officer of Etihad Airways. “As we continue to modernise our aircraft fleet, and as we work with tourism partners to increase visitor numbers to Abu Dhabi, we are deploying newer, larger planes to key markets throughout our network.”

Chengdu, in south-central China, is a city of 7.4 million people. Etihad has upgraded its daily Abu Dhabi – Chengdu flights from 262-seat Airbus A330-200 aircraft to 299-seat Boeing 787s, a 14% increase in seats.

Shanghai, China’s largest city, with a population of more than 24 million, has been upgraded from Boeing 787-9 aircraft to larger Boeing 787-10 jets, seating 336 passengers, up 12%.

And Seoul, the capital of South Korea, with a population approaching 10 million, has been upgraded by Etihad from the Boeing 787-10 to the 494-seat Airbus A380, a massive 47% increase.

With the upgrades of the Shanghai and Chengdu routes, Etihad now operates Dreamliners to all four of its China gateways, having introduced the planes to Hong Kong and Beijing earlier this year. Recently, Dreamliners have also been deployed to London and Rome, and still to come this year, Etihad will introduce the aircraft to Frankfurt, Milan, Dublin, Johannesburg and Lagos.

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