Eithad Airways is increasing its flight frequencies to Athens and Larnaca.
From July 2, the Gulf carrier will up its Abu Dhabi to Athens service from seven to ten flights weekly with second daily services on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.
These will be operated by an A320 and depart AUH as EY099 at 0250 and land in Athens at 0705. Return service EY098 will leave Athens at 0815 and arrive in Abu Dhabi at 1355.
In addition, between June 1 and September 30, the daily EY090/EY091 flights that currently ply the route will be upgraded from a 174-seat A321 aircraft to a 254-seat A330-200.
Etihad will increase its base frequency on its Larnaca route from three to five flights per week. And, it will also operate Larnaca as a daily service from July 1 to September 30.
During that peak summer period, flight EY093 will depart Abu Dhabi daily at 0925 and land in Larnaca at 1250. Return service EY094 will take-off from Larnaca at 1435 and arrive back at AUH at 1930.
From October 1, EY093 and EY094 will move to a five-weekly service on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.
All services to Larnaca will be operated by a two-class A320 aircraft configured to carry 16 guests in Pearl Business Class and 120 in Coral Economy Class.
Peter Baumgartner, Etihad's chief commercial officer, said: "These increases in frequency and capacity demonstrate our commitment to build a global, connected network.
"In the case of Athens, our new flights will offer guests the choice of two different departure times to and from Abu Dhabi, and in the case of Larnaca, the additional flights will provide more choice and flexibility, as well as better connectivity over Abu Dhabi...
"It also means that by July 2014, nearly 90 per cent of Etihad Airways’ global passenger network will be served by a daily flight."
Last month, Etihad's 49 per cent stake in Air Serbia was formally approved (see news, March 25).
Graham Smith
