Etihad Airways has announced it is to suspend flights between Abu Dhabi and Edinburgh effective from the start of October and between Abu Dhabi and Perth, Australia from the same date.
The news of the cessation of the Edinburgh flights will not come as a big surprise to Business Traveller readers, as we covered this development last week.
But the announcement that Etihad would also cease flying to Perth, Australia at around the same time is unexpected.
In a statement Etihad says, “As part of our ongoing review of network performance, Etihad will suspend flights between Abu Dhabi and Edinburgh effective October 1.”
“Along with our travel agency partners we will work closely with impacted guests to notify them of the changes to their itineraries and reaccommodate them on alternative flights.”
A similar statement was issued regarding Perth.
Flights to both cities will cease by the beginning of October with the last flights departing Edinburgh (for Abu Dhabi) and Abu Dhabi (for Perth) on September 30.
It can be assumed that the yield or revenue per seat did not meet Etihad’s expectations. And in the case of Perth, indirect carriers to Europe like Etihad face increased price competition following the introduction of Qantas’ non-stop flights to London.
(You can watch a video of the Qantas London-Perth flight here.)
These route cancellations will not be welcomed by the many thousands of European travellers heading to SE Asia and Australia who have already made bookings for peak season flights starting in December.
Business Traveller will bring you further details of airline route changes as and when they are announced.
