Abu Dhabi’s Etihad to add three weekly flights to Sydney

It also means that, for the first time, Etihad will be able to boast of a double-daily Abu Dhabi-Sydney service which, of course, connects (at Abu Dhabi) with a multitude of flights to/from the United Kingdom and mainland Europe.

The new service will depart Perth every Tuesday, Friday and Sunday at 23:05 arriving into Abu Dhabi at 06:35.

To enable the introduction of services between Melbourne and Los Angeles, Virgin Australia will cease its three times weekly Sydney-Abu Dhabi flights after 04 February 2017 and will reduce Brisbane-Los Angeles flights from seven per week to six per week from 07 April 2017.

However Virgin Australia’s major investor, Etihad, will replace that capacity on the Sydney-Abu Dhabi route with an additional three of its own 777 services.

Overall, the additional Sydney capacity and new codeshare with Virgin Australia will increase Etihad’s Australian services from a total of 42 to 45 weekly flights, a statement said. Etihad will add its EY code to the new flights.

“Virgin Australia’s announcement today is great news for Western Australians, and people wanting to visit our great State”, said Kevin Brown, Chief Executive Officer, Perth Airport.

In Australia, House Price Index measures weighted average of price movements for residential properties for eight capital cities: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra, Hobart, Darwin and Perth.

It also means less confusion for passengers who will now be flying Etihad right the way though to Sydney.

The flights will be served by Virgin Australia’s Airbus A330-200 aircraft, recently fitted with the airline’s new “The Business” seats in business class. The airline has a fleet of 122 Airbus and Boeing aircraft, with 204 aircraft on firm order, including 71 Boeing 787s, 25 Boeing 777Xs, 62 Airbus A350s and 10 Airbus A380s.