Etihad Airways to Boost New York Capacity

Etihad Airways has decided to boost its capacity on daily Abu Dhabi-New York flights. With Boeing 777-300ER in service, from June 1, more number of seats will be available for those seeking tickets on the popular sector. 

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, will be increasing its capacity on its daily flights between Abu Dhabi and New York. From June 1, 2013, the carrier will operate on the route via a Wi-Fi enabled Boeing 777-300ER, replacing Airbus A340-500 which is being used currently.

Those seeking tickets on the flight will have an option of three travel classes and a total of 328 seats. Offering greater flexibility to fliers seeking air tickets, there will be eight Diamond First class, 40 Pearl Business class and 280 Coral Economy class seats. Abu Dhabi-New York route remains highly popular with travellers. In the year 2012 alone, 155,000 passengers booked tickets with Etihad to fly on the route. Regular travellers who remain in a hunt for tickets would surely be pleased with the increase in the number of seats on daily flights.

Moreover, Boeing 777-300ER makes it possible for travellers to enjoy in-flight connectivity on New York, USA flights. Those booking Diamond First Class tickets will get Internet connectivity on a complimentary basis, while others will have to pay a nominal cost to use the service in flights.

“We are responding to passenger demand by continuously investing in our fleet and upgrading routes where we see a need for more capacity. The change to the Boeing-777 aircraft, the largest three-class aircraft in our fleet, on the New York route is a demonstration of our commitment to expand our services in the US,” James Hogan, Etihad Airways President and Chief Executive Officer was quoted in airline’s press release.

The operator presently runs 14 Boeing 777-300ER aircraft across its network of flights. Soon, it will take delivery of more 777-300ER planes, enabling the aircraft change on the New York service.