LONDON – Etihad Airways has announced that it will resume services between Abu Dhabi and Beijing on Wednesday, as COVID restrictions ease.
The flight will be operated by the airline’s Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner aircraft, with the following flight schedule seen below:
| Flight | Departure | Time | Arrival | Time | Aircraft | Frequency |
| EY 888(Inaugural flight) | Abu Dhabi | 18:00 | Beijing | 05:25+1 | Boeing 787-9 | Wednesday 29 June |
| EY 889(Inaugural flight) | Beijing | 02:10 | Abu Dhabi | 07:10 | Boeing 787-9 | Friday 1 July |
Executive Comments…
Commenting on the announcement was Martin Drew, Etihad’s Senior VP of Global Sales & Cargo:
“Etihad Airways is delighted about the resumption of passenger services between Abu Dhabi and Beijing, our second service to resume to China.”
“China has always been an important strategic market for Etihad and the resumption of direct flights between the two capital cities will further strengthen the comprehensive strategic partnership between China and the United Arab Emirates.”
Beijing will be the latest addition for China, especially with the Shanghai route that was resumed in July 2020 to meet the demand of passengers.
For Beijing, this is the first regular direct international passenger flight to resume following the ease in restrictions by the authorities in the area.
Continued Expansion Globally…
The airline has been making plans for continuous expansion in recent weeks, particularly in Europe and the Indian Ocean.
There will be a total of 5 new routes to these regions and are to be operated seasonally.
The three seasonal services departed UAE’s capital, Abu Dhabi to Nice, France, a well-renowned city in the French Côte d’Azur. The second route took off to Heraklion on the Greek Island of Crete.
The last European destination will be in Malaga, Spain. Etihad is expected to fly to these sunny destinations twice per week.
Drew also commented on this saying:
“Summer adventurers have plenty to discover with Etihad Airways this year,”
“From the stunning beaches of the Costa del Sol to the picture-perfect French Riviera, Etihad’s summer network offers even more opportunities to get away and experience the wonder of travel in 2022.”
Apart from these new routes, the airline will also increase its frequency to the famous Greek Island of Santorini, and Zanzibar in Tanzania. The increase in these flights signals that leisure travel is not yet diminished after two years of hiatus.
Etihad is playing an important role in reviving the local tourism industry of these two destinations. These routes will be operated three times per week. Passengers happening to fly on these flights will be greeted with Etihad’s wellbeing kit, to start their holiday.
Overall…
It remains clear that Etihad Airways is making the most of additional demand during Summer 2022 and is able to open up new routes as COVID restrictions ease globally.
With the airline struggling a lot during the COVID-19 pandemic, it will be interesting to see how the airline is going to fare and whether this busy demand will result in strong revenues and profitability down the line.
In the meantime, all we can do is sit back and wait to see what happens.
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