Etihad goes daily to Singapore and Brisbane

Etihad flies an Airbus A330 to Brisbane

Etihad Airways has announced plans to launch daily flights to Brisbane, via Singapore.

Currently the Abu Dhabi-based airline operates three direct weekly flights to the Queensland hub. But from 1 February 2013 these will be boosted to daily, but re-routed through Singapore with a short 1.5-hour wait at Changi airport.

“Going daily to Brisbane and Singapore puts Etihad Airways in a stronger competitive position and will increase the airline’s brand footprint exponentially in these markets,” said James Hogan, President & CEO of Etihad. “Adding an extra 1,048 seats per week to the route underscores the strategic importance of Singapore to our business and allows us to offer the corporate and leisure travel market a more appealing proposition: more flights, more convenience, improved connections and a wider choice of destinations in Europe, the Middle East, Gulf Cooperation Countries, and on the Virgin Australia domestic network.

“We look forward to working with our partners in government and industry in Singapore to increase business and leisure tourism and to cement the route’s enduring success,” he added.

Queensland Premier Campbell Newman also welcomed the move.

“This will see thousands of extra people a year coming into Queensland, injecting millions of dollars into our economy and resulting in more jobs being created,” said Newman. “More flights into the state opens up opportunities for international travellers to see some of the many wonderful tourist attractions Queensland has to offer.”

Etihad Airways commenced thrice weekly flights to Brisbane in October 2007, with the Queensland capital becoming the airline’s second destination in Australia. Flights to Singapore started in September the same year.

Etihad will operate an Airbus A330-200 aircraft on the Abu Dhabi-Singapore-Brisbane route, configured in two classes with 22 seats in business class and 240 seats in economy class.

From 1 February 2013 Etihad’s Abu Dhabi-Singapore-Brisbane flights will depart the UAE capital daily at 1025, getting into Singapore’s Changi airport at 2210. The flight then departs Changi at 2340, before finally arriving in Brisbane at 0800 the next morning.

On the return leg, flights will depart Brisbane at 1155, arriving in Singapore at 1810. The service will them depart Singapore at 1945 before arriving back into Abu Dhabi at 2330.

By Mark Elliott, 16 August 2012, Thursday 9:51 AM