Etihad to increase links with Iraq

Etihad is to launch flights from Abu Dhabi to Basra in southern Iraq from mid-April.

Basra becomes the 84 ^th destination in the carrier’s global network and the third city it flies to in Iraq. Etihad Airways already operates services to the capital, Baghdad, and Erbil, in the country’s north.  

“Iraq’s surging economy represents a good opportunity to add even greater depth to our schedule,” Etihad Airways president and CEO James Hogan, said today.  

“Basra is an important industrial and transport hub but currently has only limited access to air services and we are delighted to be able to help improve these by investing in the local community.”  

The new Airbus A320 service, with 16 Pearl Business class seats and 120 seats in Coral Economy class, will operate four times a week from April 15.  

The schedule provides both morning and afternoon departures between Abu Dhabi and Basra on the first two and last two days of the working week and has been custom designed to suit expected traffic flows.  

Oil and gas represent the backbone of the local economy and major companies rotating staff in and out of Basra have already expressed strong interest in the new flights.  

These will also provide seamless connectivity over Abu Dhabi for Etihad Airways flights to Asia, the Indian Subcontinent and Australia  

Etihad Airways began flying to Iraq when it launched a daily service to Baghdad in late April 2010, with Erbil added to the network five weeks later.  

Last year more than 100,000 passengers were carried between Abu Dhabi and these two cities, with the Baghdad route enjoying strong growth.  

Industry analyst Saj Ahmad said:” "Given the absence of Iraqi Airways, Etihad is capitalising on an underserved country by operating to the key oil-rich city of Basra.  

Expansion in Iraq has become a core focus point for GCC carriers primarily because demand for business and tourist traffic had little choice of air travel options until they came along to offer a mix of both low cost flights from the likes of flydubai and also with premium fares offered by Emirates, Gulf Air and Royal Jordanian.  

That said, one can almost certainly see Etihad making a play for Najaf next, another vital city with significant traffic demand that is poorly serviced.

Article Source : Arabian Aerospace