Etihad Airways has announced 10 new direct routes from Abu Dhabi to destinations in Asia, Africa and the United States – including Hong Kong and Atlanta.
As part of its expansion plans for next year, which chief executive Antonoaldo Neves predicts will be the company's biggest ever, the UAE's national airline is now selling tickets to and from seven destinations in Asia, two in Africa and Atlanta on the US Eastern Seaboard.
Atlanta will be the first of the 10 new routes to take off, with flights scheduled to begin on July 2, 2025. When that happens, Etihad will be the only airline offering direct flights between the UAE and the capital of Georgia.
Flights to Taipei in northern Taiwan will start in September, followed by new routes to Medan, Phnom Penh and Krabi in October and Tunis, Chiang Mai, Hong Kong, Hanoi and Algiers in November. Tickets for each destination are already on sale.
Abu Dhabi tourism is 'going to explode'
Mr Neves said Etihad is on track for its biggest year, thanks in part to the expansion of Zayed International Airport. “In 2025, we're going to have 21 million passengers,” he said. “And departures will go from 56,000 in 2022 to more than 100,000, something that would never have been possible at the old terminal.”
In addition to expanding its network, Etihad has also outlined plans to fly more frequency to European destinations in the first half of next year and says it will prioritise scheduling to make travel times more convenient.
“Now tourists who come to Abu Dhabi from Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Russia or Switzerland – six destinations that are huge countries in Europe – can come to the UAE on a very convenient flight schedule.” added Mr Neves. “They arrive around 9 or 11am, go to the hotel. And then when they come back they can leave the hotel at 7am or 9am. It's perfect timing for tourists, so you're going to see the number of tourists explode next year.”
Etihad hopes its focus on Asia will increase the number of tourists visiting Abu Dhabi. “In the first part of this year, we had around 40 per cent capacity growth into Europe,” said Arik De, chief revenue and commercial officer. “Going into next year, we're going to add around 36 per cent capacity. That growth enables us to unlock this eastern network. Then it's not only amazing for the UAE, because a lot of these places into Asia are not currently served, but we are going to be the only airline that can take someone all the way from Nice to Hanoi, for example.”
Etihad had previously announced new direct services to Al Ameain, Warsaw and Prague, with flights set to begin in June and July. The airline will also start flying directly from Abu Dhabi to Nairobi, Kenya from December 15.
Passengers will pay more
By the end of 2025, Etihad plans to have more than 90 destinations in 50 countries across the world. This will be made possible with the arrival of new jets. Etihad expects to be operating more than 110 aircraft, up from 71 in 2022, including brand new A321LRs, Boeing 787s and Airbus A350s. The airline also plans to reinstate two of its A380 super jumbos early next year.
But passengers hoping to see a respite in airfares next year will probably be disappointed, according to Mr Neves, who points to aircraft supply chain issues faced by the aviation industry.
“In the end, airfares are about supply and demand and if planes are not delivered, demand is going to grow and fares are going to go up,” he explained. “I hope they deliver planes, because we're in the business of selling tickets and we want to sell more and cheaper tickets, but the reality is our load factors now are extraordinary. And Abu Dhabi is doing extraordinary well, so demand is really, really strong. So for fares to be controlled there is an urgent need for Boeing and Airbus to deliver planes.”
