Etihad Airways has launched daily, non-stop services between Abu Dhabi and Perth.
The route will be operated by a 262-seat Airbus A330-200, with 22 seats in Pearl Business Class and 240 in Coral Economy Class.
Flight EY486 departs Abu Dhabi at 22h10, arriving in Perth at 13h10 + 1. Return flight EY487 departs Perth at 15h55, arriving in Abu Dhabi at 23h25.
Perth is Etihad’s fourth destination in Australia, bringing its total number of weekly services between Australia and Abu Dhabi to 35.
Etihad Airways president and ceo, James Hogan, says Perth is a strategically important addition to the airline’s Australian and global network. “This is the first commercial air link between Perth and Abu Dhabi and marks the beginning of an exciting new era of partnership between the state of Western Australia and the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
“Abu Dhabi and Perth are each popular business travel and holiday destinations – attracting 2,8 million and 7,3 million visitors respectively in 2013 – and we are already seeing a strong commercial response to the new route from travellers in the UAE and Western Australia.”
Once the construction of the Domestic Pier at Perth Airport’s Terminal 1 is complete, Etihad and codeshare partner Virgin Australia will be co-located in the same terminal, affording easy connections to Virgin’s domestic network, as well as regional connections in the nearby Terminal 2.
“Our partnership with Virgin Australia enables us to offer codeshare flights from Perth to 13 regional airports throughout the state of Western Australia,” comments James.
