Etihad Airways commences flights to Washington D.C

The new service to Washington Dulles International Airport has been introduced to meet strong demand for government and business travel, as well as growing demand for leisure trips between and beyond the cities.

James Hogan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways, said. “Government and corporate customers in both markets have given us strong indication that the Abu Dhabi - Washington route can support a daily service from day one.”

“We have confidently responded by committing 3,360 seats per week and already our forward bookings on the route are very encouraging in both directions,” Hogan said. “In addition, we will open a US$6.8 million premium lounge this week in Terminal A at Dulles Airport to benefit our Diamond First and Pearl Business Class passengers.”

Analyst Saj Ahmad commented: “"Given the double-digit growth between Abu Dhabi and the USA, it's no surprise that the launch of flights to Washington DC means that Etihad stands to gain in a big way. From political, economic and financial links between the two capitals, Etihad will be able to leverage its home hub advantage to rivals such as Qatar Airways and Emirates.”

Ahmad added:”It further provides additional travel options for customers, especially for those in the US who have very little-to-nil US-airlines serving the GCC, therefore this is an untapped market that Etihad is exploiting.

“With strong demand in both directions and as Etihad expands its fleet, it is likely that the A340-500 may well be swapped for the bigger 777-300ER as the carrier inducts more of those in the coming months to cater for growing passenger numbers."