Etihad to launch 3 new routes

“With the launch of the Washington, DC, route, we have already earned 200-300 bookings in Thailand in April,” the airline said yesterday.
Thailand is recognised by the national airline of the United Arab Emirates as an extremely important market. The country is Etihad’s No 1 passenger carry point to point from Abu Dhabi airport to anywhere in the world.
The airline on Tuesday hosted a media event led by Kirk Albrow, its general manager for Thailand, ahead of the inaugural service to Washington on Sunday.
The airline said in a statement that its existing flight from Bangkok to Abu Dhabi would be combined with its new flight from Abu Dhabi to Washington through seamless connections in both directions.
The Abu Dhabi-Washington route will use a three-class, 240-seat Airbus A340-500. The US capital is Etihad’s fourth destination in North America alongside New York, Chicago and Toronto.
Sao Paulo will open in June and Ho Chi Minh City in October.
Etihad serves 86 cities in 56 countries around the world, including the Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, China, Japan and South Korea.
Etihad flies three times a day between Bangkok and Abu Dhabi and once daily between Phuket and Abu Dhabi through code-sharing with its equity partner Air Berlin.
The airline a few weeks ago launched its first global advertising campaign focused on emotional branding rather than product marketing.
The commercial has been broadcast through major cable TV channels in Asia and has received positive feedback from potential travellers around the world, the company says.
Thailand is a popular destination for both leisure and business. Advance bookings have been strong thanks to the growth of westward travel from Thailand.
With more than 1,200 passengers from Thailand every day, the airline enjoys more than a 90-per-cent load factor.
It is promoting special fares for the Washington route – Bt50,380 for economy, Bt152,345 for business class and Bt337,300 for first class.
“We want to provide a high-end travel experience to individual travellers both in ground and in-flight services. We have invested a tremendous amount of money in the 14,000 people we hired to ensure that we can consistently present quality products that meet the expectations of Thai and international travellers around the world,” it said.
Etihad surpassed its target last year by carrying 22 per cent more passengers to a record 10.29 million. That represents an extra 1.88 million passengers travelling on the carrier’s global network that now covers 86 of its own passenger and cargo destinations and 248 code-share destinations.
Passenger growth for Etihad’s equity partners was also strong.