Etihad Airways, the Abu Dhabi-based national airline of the UAE, will introduce its first ‘all economy’ class aircraft into its fleet in October 2010. The two Airbus A320s will be configured to carry 162 economy class passengers, an increase of 42 from the current economy capacity.
The all economy cabin aircraft will operate to short haul Etihad destinations, which have high demand for economy traffic and low demand for premium traffic. Initially these will be Alexandria, Calicut, Colombo, Damascus, Doha and Thiruvananthapuram.
Plans are in place to expand the all economy fleet to 10 A320 aircraft which will enable the airline to launch new short haul destinations which have low demand for premium travel and also to existing Etihad destinations.
James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ Chief Executive Officer, said: “Etihad has grown at a remarkable pace during the past six and a half years. We have built a strong brand and a robust business, and it is the right time to challenge the way we serve our various markets and segments.
“Our all economy aircraft will allow us to offer a more competitive product in key point-to-point markets in Asia, the Middle East, North Africa and the Indian Subcontinent, while maintaining the high standards of service we have become known for.”
Customers travelling on the new ‘all economy’ aircraft will receive the same world class service and product that is featured on our current narrow body fleet, such as seat back in-flight entertainment screens and hot and cold meals and beverages. Each seat has a 32 inch pitch.
Etihad currently has 15 A320 aircraft within its fleet and 35 aircraft are on order from Airbus.
Etihad Airways operates a two-class Airbus A320 aircraft between Abu Dhabi and Cyprus. It is configured to carry 140 passengers, with 20 seats in business class and 120 in economy class. Flight EY093 flies every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. It departs from Abu Dhabi at 09:40 and arrives in Larnaca at 12:15. The return flight, EY094, departs from Larnaca at 15:35 and arrives in Abu Dhabi at 20:05, local time.
For flight schedules and bookings visit www.etihadairways.com/cy or a local travel agent.
About Etihad Airways
Etihad Airways is the national airline of the United Arab Emirates based in the UAE’s capital, Abu Dhabi. Currently Etihad offers flights to more than 60 destinations in the Middle East, Europe, North America, Africa, Asia and Australia.
