GULF Daily News: GULF Daily News
30 March 2010 - GULF Daily News
Etihad Airways has launched non-stop flights from its home base in Abu Dhabi to Tokyo.
The UAE carrier has become the first Middle Eastern airline to operate direct flights to Japan.
The new route was announced at a Press conference held in the InterContinental Hotel in Tokyo.
Abu Dhabi Airports Company chief Khalifa Al Mazrui, Abu Dhabi Tourism deputy general manager Ahmed Hussain, Narita Airport Authority chairman, Tokyo Governor and a UAE official delegation attended.
The inaugural flight, EY878, left Abu Dhabi at 10.25pm on Saturday and landed at Narita Airport in Tokyo at 1.35pm.
Etihad chief executive officer James Hogan expressed his delight at the launch of the new route, making the company the first Middle Eastern carrier to operate direct flights to Tokyo.
"This is an absolutely historic moment for the UAE's national carrier," he said.
He also announced that the company would schedule five direct flights to Tokyo weekly, in addition to the five flights per week to Nagoya.
With the launch of the new Abu Dhabi-Tokyo route, Etihad boosted its presence on the civil aviation market operating regular flights to 60 destinations.
The direct flights cater to the categories of businessmen and tourists, banking on a new fleet boasting the latest aviation technologies in the world.
"Etihad Airways is not new to the Japanese market as it started operating five weekly flights to Nagoya last February," Mr Hogan said.
He also described Etihad Airways as the fastest growing in the history of commercial aviation.
"The company employs 8,000 people to date and serves 60 cities covering Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and North America," he said, forecasting passenger traffic to grow to 7.5 million this year.
"Etihad even aspires to become the best airline although it was established in 2003," he said.
The company placed the largest aircraft order in commercial aviation history at Farnborough International Airshow in 2008 for up to 205 aircrafts - 100 firm orders, 55 options and 50 purchase rights.
It then followed with a major engine deal at Le Bourget International Airshow last year.
"We also continue to invest in our award-winning product and services. We have recently commenced upgrading our Diamond First Class Suites, and are following this with upgrades to our Pearl Business and Coral Economy class seats.
"Furthermore, we focus on a level of service across all classes of the aircraft to ensure that our guests are inspired and treated personally throughout every point of their journey.
"We will spend the next few years maturing as a business and continuing to focus on providing the best service for our customers around the globe."
In November, the airline scooped one of the most prestigious industry awards when it won World's Leading Airline at the World Travel Awards in the UK.
Mr Hussain said this is a momentous day for Abu Dhabi as well as Etihad.
"The opening of this new route brings us into direct contact with a high potential tourism market.
"Last year some 7,569 Japanese visitors were among the 1.54m hotel guests Abu Dhabi received - and with the launch of this service we are looking to significantly increase that figure.
"We currently have 17,500 hotel rooms and two truly iconic properties - the Emirates Palace and the Yas Hotel. There are a host of other options from desert retreats, to island getaways, from down-town business hotels to beachside resorts.
"Japan and Abu Dhabi have long partnerships within the oil industry and certainly Japanese brands are among the most recognised and sought after in our ultra-modern shopping malls. We now want to add tourism to this relationship.
"Our objective is to play an active role in developing the growth of travel and tourism between the UAE and Japan wherever possible.
"An example of this commitment is our codeshare with ANA which came into service earlier this month.
The codeshare agreement opens up ties between the UAE and a number of destinations in Japan.
'In addition to our flights to Nagoya and now Tokyo, the codeshare will enable us to fly passengers into and out of Sapporo, Fukuoka and Osaka."
The UAE carrier has become the first Middle Eastern airline to operate direct flights to Japan.
The new route was announced at a Press conference held in the InterContinental Hotel in Tokyo.
Abu Dhabi Airports Company chief Khalifa Al Mazrui, Abu Dhabi Tourism deputy general manager Ahmed Hussain, Narita Airport Authority chairman, Tokyo Governor and a UAE official delegation attended.
The inaugural flight, EY878, left Abu Dhabi at 10.25pm on Saturday and landed at Narita Airport in Tokyo at 1.35pm.
Etihad chief executive officer James Hogan expressed his delight at the launch of the new route, making the company the first Middle Eastern carrier to operate direct flights to Tokyo.
"This is an absolutely historic moment for the UAE's national carrier," he said.
He also announced that the company would schedule five direct flights to Tokyo weekly, in addition to the five flights per week to Nagoya.
With the launch of the new Abu Dhabi-Tokyo route, Etihad boosted its presence on the civil aviation market operating regular flights to 60 destinations.
The direct flights cater to the categories of businessmen and tourists, banking on a new fleet boasting the latest aviation technologies in the world.
"Etihad Airways is not new to the Japanese market as it started operating five weekly flights to Nagoya last February," Mr Hogan said.
He also described Etihad Airways as the fastest growing in the history of commercial aviation.
"The company employs 8,000 people to date and serves 60 cities covering Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and North America," he said, forecasting passenger traffic to grow to 7.5 million this year.
"Etihad even aspires to become the best airline although it was established in 2003," he said.
The company placed the largest aircraft order in commercial aviation history at Farnborough International Airshow in 2008 for up to 205 aircrafts - 100 firm orders, 55 options and 50 purchase rights.
It then followed with a major engine deal at Le Bourget International Airshow last year.
"We also continue to invest in our award-winning product and services. We have recently commenced upgrading our Diamond First Class Suites, and are following this with upgrades to our Pearl Business and Coral Economy class seats.
"Furthermore, we focus on a level of service across all classes of the aircraft to ensure that our guests are inspired and treated personally throughout every point of their journey.
"We will spend the next few years maturing as a business and continuing to focus on providing the best service for our customers around the globe."
In November, the airline scooped one of the most prestigious industry awards when it won World's Leading Airline at the World Travel Awards in the UK.
Mr Hussain said this is a momentous day for Abu Dhabi as well as Etihad.
"The opening of this new route brings us into direct contact with a high potential tourism market.
"Last year some 7,569 Japanese visitors were among the 1.54m hotel guests Abu Dhabi received - and with the launch of this service we are looking to significantly increase that figure.
"We currently have 17,500 hotel rooms and two truly iconic properties - the Emirates Palace and the Yas Hotel. There are a host of other options from desert retreats, to island getaways, from down-town business hotels to beachside resorts.
"Japan and Abu Dhabi have long partnerships within the oil industry and certainly Japanese brands are among the most recognised and sought after in our ultra-modern shopping malls. We now want to add tourism to this relationship.
"Our objective is to play an active role in developing the growth of travel and tourism between the UAE and Japan wherever possible.
"An example of this commitment is our codeshare with ANA which came into service earlier this month.
The codeshare agreement opens up ties between the UAE and a number of destinations in Japan.
'In addition to our flights to Nagoya and now Tokyo, the codeshare will enable us to fly passengers into and out of Sapporo, Fukuoka and Osaka."
Source: GULF Daily News
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