Etihad launches second daily Melbourne flight from Abu Dhabi

The launch this weekend of Etihad Airways’ second daily non-stop service will connect Melbourne with more of the world’s great cities and create new opportunities for international commerce and trade.

The new service will be operated by a three-class Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with eight seats in First Class, 40 in Business Class and 280 in Economy Class.

It complements the airline’s existing daily non-stop B777 flight between Melbourne and Abu Dhabi.

Etihad Airways flight EY462 will depart Abu Dhabi at 10:30 local time on Saturday and touch down in Melbourne at approximately 06:05 on Sunday.

The return flight EY463 will depart Melbourne at 15:00 on Sunday and arrive in Abu Dhabi at 11:05 the same day.

Etihad Airways president James Hogan said the launch of the airline’s second daily flight would put Etihad Airways in its strongest ever competitive position in the Melbourne market.

“Becoming the only airline to offer double daily non-stop flights between Melbourne and the UAE clearly demonstrates our ongoing commitment to Victoria and exponentially increases the attractiveness of our customer proposition.

“From August 1st we will connect more international visitors to Melbourne from more markets in the Middle East and Europe and will offer Melbournians the convenience of two daily departures and one-stop connectivity to more than 50 great destinations.

“We also plan to boost our economic contribution to the state of Victoria through the airline’s successful freight division – Etihad Cargo.

“The addition of a second Boeing 777-300ER will double belly-hold cargo capacity between Melbourne and Abu Dhabi and provide new opportunities for bilateral trade with the UAE – Australia’s largest trading partner in the Middle East.”

Etihad Airways will now offer one-stop connectivity between Melbourne and popular destinations such as Edinburgh, Geneva, Madrid and Zurich on the Etihad Airways network, Stuttgart and Vienna operated by the Air Berlin Group, and Venice operated by Alitalia, and improved connectivity to key destinations such as Athens and Brussels.

The airline will also offer double daily connectivity between Melbourne and Manchester, Dublin, Beirut and London Heathrow, where guests will experience Etihad Airways’ flagship A380 aircraft.

Etihad Airways will also offer double daily connections to Rome and Milan in conjunction with Alitalia, Berlin and Düsseldorf with airberlin, and Belgrade with Air Serbia.

The new double daily schedule for Melbourne increases to 39 the total number of non-stop weekly return flights the airline operates between its four Australian gateways.

The airline flies daily from Brisbane and Perth and offers double daily flights from Sydney – 11 of which are operated by Etihad Airways and three which are operated by partner Virgin Australia.

Etihad Airways also codeshares on Virgin Australia flights to 44 destinations across Australia and six in New Zealand.