Etihad Airways to start new service to Barcelona from Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi, Jun 4 (IBNS): Motor racing enthusiasts will be able to avail Etihad Airways' new scheduled service connecting Barcelona (Spain) and Abu Dhabi (UAE), in time for the 2018 Formula 1 Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, one of Middle East’s largest sporting event.
The Grand Prix will be held from November 23-25 at Abu Dhabi's 5.55 kilometre Yas Marina Circuit.
Effective November 21, 2018, the service connecting the two key hubs will operate five times a week with two-class Airbus A330-200 before becoming a daily operation from March 31, 2019.
Barcelona will become the second city in Spain served by Etihad Airways, complementing the airline’s existing daily service to the capital Madrid.
According to a release by Etihad Airways, the new link will provide business and leisure travellers with convenient timings to travel between Abu Dhabi and Barcelona, and also provide seamless onward connections through Abu Dhabi to major cities in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, China, Japan, Korea and Australia.
Peter Baumgartner, Chief Executive Officer Etihad Airways, said, “As one of the largest unserved markets from our Abu Dhabi base, Barcelona - a hub of culture, commerce, tourism, education, fashion and science, has witnessed a significant increase in travel demand from the emirate, and from across our wider network."
"We are now delighted to announce the first direct link between these two important global hubs,"Baumgartner said. "We are confident it will prove very popular with UAE and Barcelona-based customers, allowing us to extend our acclaimed inflight service, hospitality and flair to this vibrant Mediterranean city, and to build on the flourishing cultural and commercial ties between the UAE and Spain.”
Etihad Airways will increase frequency to the city to meet passenger demand for the Mobile World Congress, which takes place from February 25-28, 2019.
Barcelona is one of the busiest cruise ports in the world and an important source market of cruise traffic for Etihad Airways, the airlines said in its release.
Abu Dhabi has also emerged as one of the leading cruise destinations in the Arabian Gulf region, with over 329,105 cruise tourists visiting the city during the 2017 season.
The new direct service between the two cities will ensure Abu Dhabi remains a leading player in the region’s cruise travel ambitions.
Etihad Airways operates an extensive codeshare partnership with Air Europa (UX), on the Spanish airline’s scheduled services from Madrid to Barcelona and 18 other major European cities.
From its Abu Dhabi base, Etihad Airways flies to 93 international passenger and cargo destinations with its fleet of 111 Airbus and Boeing aircraft.
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, was established by Royal (Emiri) Decree in July 2003.
etihad.com.
Imae: Etihad Airways/Twitter
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.
