Etihad Airways has announced it will fly daily to San Francisco from November, taking to six the number of US destinations the airline will serve by the end of this year.
The carrier will operate a three-class B777-300ER leased from Jet Airways on the route, with 30 seats in business class and 308 in economy.
Outbound flight EU183 will depart Abu Dhabi at 0215 and arrive in San Francisco at 0630, with return service taking-off from SFO at 0830 and landing in Abu Dhabi at 1240 the next day.
Etihad currently flies double-daily to New York (see news, January 15) and daily to Los Angeles, Chicago and Washington, DC. It will launch a three-times weekly service to Dallas in December (see news, December 2013).
James Hogan, president and CEO of Etihad Airways, said: "The United States has been placed at the heart of our network development this year, with services launched to Los Angeles last month and flights commencing to Dallas in December 2014.
"San Francisco is another strong addition and provides our first direct link to northern California.
"This launch is testament to our successful partnership with Jet Airways, as the route will be initiated using their Boeing 777-300ER aircraft through a lease agreement; the flights will be operated by Etihad Airways and its crew."
Last year, Etihad completed a deal to buy a 24 per cent stake in Jet Airways (see news, November 2013).
Graham Smith
