Etihad To Fly Abu Dhabi-To-JFK

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New York will become Etihad Airways’ 35th destination when the Abu Dhabi-based airline starts flights to John F. Kennedy International Airport on Oct. 26.

Etihad’s chairman, Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saif Al Nahyan, says of the new route, “By connecting Abu Dhabi and New York, we are once again illustrating the ambitions we have at Etihad Airways to service the world’s most strategically important cities and regions.”

Flight EY503 will depart Abu Dhabi International Airport daily at 2:15 p.m., arriving in New York at 9:25 p.m. On the return leg, flight EY504 will depart at 11:10 p.m. and arrive in Abu Dhabi the following day at 8:25 p.m.

The timings of the new route mean travelers can make good connections from other cities in the Gulf region and the Indian subcontinent to fly to the U.S. Etihad passengers flying from Bahrain on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays arrive in Abu Dhabi in time for the new flight to New York. Wednesday flights from Delhi and Mumbai flights on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays also will allow a connection.

Currently British Airways flights leave Abu Dhabi at 2:00 a.m., arriving New York at 11:15 a.m., via Heathrow, and Turkish Airlines, which Mondays, Thursdays and Saturdays leaves Abu Dhabi 2:35 a.m., arriving in New York at 3:35 p.m., via Istanbul.

For passengers flying from New York to Abu Dhabi, it is possible to connect to daily flights to Muscat and Bahrain, and Doha except for Tuesdays, at 9:30 p.m., and Mumbai at 11:10 p.m.

The New York route will be served by the new Airbus 340-500, in a three-class configuration carrying 240 passengers – 12 in first, 28 in business and 200 in economy. Passengers flying in Diamond Zone, or first class, will enjoy the new Diamond Zone seats, which recline to fully flat and can rotate 180 degrees, so that passengers can hold meetings and talk to each other.

Return fares from New York to Abu Dhabi in economy are £612 (US$1,100) plus taxes, and business class fares from £2,035 (YS$3,750), plus taxes.

In other news, Etihad is also planning new routes to Osaka and Shanghai, to be launched later in 2006. Other recent new routes for Etihad were Casablanca and Doha, which launched in June, and from July, the airline started flying to Kuwait six times a week, and Khartoum, thrice weekly.