Etihad Airways first flight from Abu Dhabi to Chicago will depart on 2 September. Chicago is the third largest city in the United States. There will initially be three flights a week but starting on 1 October, flights will be daily. The new route is aimed at boosting Etihad’s North American presence. The new flight service will operate on an Airbus A340-500 wide body aircraft with a capacity for 240 passengers.
Etihad Airways new destinations this year are Chicago, Melbourne, Hyderabad, Larnaca, Istanbul, and Athens. A senior Etihad executive said “We see an average 14% airline capacity growth through to 2020.” The airline expects revenues of about Dh11.4 billion ($3.1 billon) in 2009.
