Etihad opens flights from Perth to Abu Dhabi

United Arab Emirate’s national airline Etihad Airways has commenced daily non-stop flights between Perth and Abu Dhabi.

Flight EY486 touched down at Perth International Airport at 1:10pm where it was greeted by a water cannon salute and a traditional ‘welcome to the country’ ceremony by members of the local indigenous community.

Perth is Etihad Airway’s fourth Australian gateway alongside Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

The new daily flights bring the total number of weekly services the airline offers between Australia and Abu Dhabi to 35. 

Etihad Airways chief executive officer James Hogan said Perth was a strategically important addition to the company’s Australian and global network.

“Today’s inaugural flight creates the first commercial air link between Perth and Abu Dhabi and marks the beginning of an exciting new era of partnership between the state of Western Australia and the Emirate of Abu Dhabi,” he said. 

“Abu Dhabi and Perth are each popular business travel and holiday destinations, attracting 2.8 million and 7.3 million visitors respectively in 2013, and we are already seeing a strong commercial response to the new route from travellers in the UAE and Western Australia.”

Mr Hogan also pointed to data that showed WA was the largest contributor to trade between the UAE and Australia, accounting for 57 per cent of the $6.4 billion total in 2013. 

“With two-way trade between the UAE and Western Australia growing at an annual rate of between 25 to 30 per cent in recent years, we are forecasting strong demand for our cargo businesses,” Mr Hogan said.

Perth Airport chief executive officer Brad Geatches said he was very excited to welcome Etihad Airways to Perth.

“The commencement of Etihad Airways’ Perth operations will add approximately 190,000 annual seats from Perth to the Middle East,” he said. 

“The Middle East has become increasingly popular as a hub for passengers travelling between Perth and North America, as well as for passengers between Perth and Europe.”

Mr Hogan said the Etihad Airways partnership with Virgin Australia enabled it to offer connectivity to towns and cities outside the Perth metropolitan area and brought new competition to these markets. 

“Guests can now connect seamlessly between Virgin Australia’s regional network and Etihad Airways’ global network with the convenience of through-checked baggage, a single ticket purchase and convenient transfer times,” he said.

Travellers can connect to Etihad Airways international flights by flying with Virgin Australia from Albany, Broome, Busselton, Derby, Esperance, Geraldton, Kalgoorlie-Boulder, Kununurra, Karratha, Paraburdoo, Port Hedland, Ravensthorpe and Newman.

The Perth route will be operated by an airbus A330-200 aircraft with 262 seats.