Etihad to increase flights to Jeddah

Thursday, 20 January 2011 00:01 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, will increase flights to Jeddah from 1 February, from a daily service to 12 services per week.

The increased flying programme is a result of the strong ties between the two countries and the growing demand for business and religious travel in the region.

The airline will operate a two-class Airbus A320 aircraft between the two cities, with the capacity to carry 16 passengers in Pearl Business class and 120 guests in Coral Economy class.

“Our new flights will further cater to the Saudi population living in Abu Dhabi and across the UAE, as well as the growing numbers of business and religious travellers looking to fly to the city. The demand for the Umra flights has always been very strong and we expect this to continue to grow in the future,” said James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ chief executive officer.

Etihad Airways commenced operations to Jeddah in May 2006, with three frequencies per week, increasing to daily from April 2007 and now to 12 flights per week from February.

The airline also offers a non-stop, eight-flights-per-week service to Riyadh, and 13 flights-per-week to Dammam.