ABU DHABI: Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has announced that it will launch six new routes in the first half of 2015, including Kolkata in India.
Daily flights will commence to the European capitals of Madrid and Edinburgh next year, together with Kolkata, the historic capital of India's West Bengal state, and one of the most important business and government centres in East Africa, Entebbe, Uganda.
The airline will also operate four flights a week to the tourism and economic hub of Hong Kong, and three flights a week to Algeria’s capital and largest city, Algiers.
"Our global network development in the first half of 2015 supports a long-term vision to provide travellers with an extensive range of destinations and connections over Etihad Airways’ Abu Dhabi hub,” James Hogan, president and chief executive officer of Etihad Airways, said.
“These new destinations have been selected to expand our coverage and strengthen our customer proposition in the strategically important markets of Europe, Asia and Africa,” he added.
Etihad Airways’ global passenger and cargo network will increase to 107 destinations following route expansion in the first half of 2015.
The total includes five new routes already launched this year to Medina, Jaipur in India, Zurich, Los Angeles and Yerevan, together with four upcoming services to Perth, Rome, Phuket and Dallas, which are due to commence over the remainder of 2014.
The airline will also continue to increase frequencies on existing services in the first half of 2015, providing travellers with even more comprehensive travel choices. Network depth will be added to important markets across the North American, Middle Eastern and Indian subcontinent regions.