Etihad in carnival spirit as Brazilian debut announced

Etihad has today unveiled plans to fly to Brazil, breaking into the South American market.

“Brazil is a logical next step for us and will mark the sixth continent we serve and our coming of age as a truly global airline,” said James Hogan, Etihad’s president and CEO.

The daily Sao Paulo flights will start in June next year. The service will be the first direct air link between Abu Dhabi and any South American country. Brazil is the world’s sixth largest economy, having overtaken the UK in 2011. It is the largest country in South America and has the biggest population, at almost 200 million. Its trade and tourism will be boosted by its hosting of both the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the Olympic Games in 2016.

Hogan said: “Business and tourism flows between the United Arab Emirates and Brazil have been growing and will be strengthened by our daily direct flights.”

Brazil’s Ambassador to the UAE, João de Mendonça Lima Neto, said: “I congratulate Etihad Airways on today’s announcement that it will open a daily direct flight to the commercial and financial centre of Brazil.

“We are witnessing significant growth in the bilateral relations between Brazil and the UAE and we are certain that Etihad Airways flights will create new opportunities for government, trade, tourism and cultural exchanges.”

The move puts Etihad head to head with near neighbours Emirates and Qatar in the reach for globalisation. Industry analyst Saj Ahmad said this morning “This will mark the first of perhaps a dozen or more planned new services to Latin America. While the business and trade links that the UAE and Brazil have will strengthen, customers will get more choice when connecting into the Middle East. There's likely to be pressure on Etihad to quickly move to either double daily frequencies or to replace its planned A340-600 with 777-300ERs, particularly as Emirates' flights have about 20% more capacity. Etihad is using an airplane that has much higher fuel burn than Emirates' 777-300ERs as the 777-300ER burns 20-25% less fuel than the A340-600, depending on mission profile.

“Customers won't necessarily see any downward pressure on pricing just yet, particularly as Etihad’s flights are still a year away, but added choice by default will help keep fares in check. It's a great move for Etihad and its global expansion and it won't be long before further Latin American destinations are launched," he said.

Brazil is currently the UAE’s fourth largest trading partner with bi-lateral trade between the two countries valued at US$2.85 billion. Authorities hope to lift this to US$10 billion within five years.

There are 25 major Brazilian companies with offices in Abu Dhabi, and the UAE buys sugar, soya beans, meat, aircraft, heavy oils, tractors and construction vehicles from the South American country.