Etihad Airways launches flights to Nairobi
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Etihad Airways has launched flights to Nairobi, its first destination in East Africa. A daily service from Abu Dhabi to Nairobi will begin on April 1 next year, operated by a two class A320 aircraft with 16 Pearl Business class and 120 Coral Economy seats.Nairobi becomes the 72nd destination in Etihad’s global network and the return flights will create a new link between the two capital cities of Kenya and the UAE. “This new route will allow Etihad to tap into large traffic flows between East Africa, North Asia, and the Indian Subcontinent,” the airline’s CEO, James Hogan, said.”Our strategy is to target areas of strong growth in emerging economies such as North, East and Central Africa and we have a number of other destinations under active consideration. “Nairobi is an ideal addition to Etihad’s global footprint. There are 38,000 Kenyan nationals residing in the UAE and there are large and established point-to-point traffic flows between the two countries.”Also, Abu Dhabi and Kenya have much in common economically. Both have 2030 plans in which tourism plays a vital role and the UAE is one of the largest exporters to the country.”In 2010 more than two million tourists visited Kenya, including some 295,000 from the Middle East. This new route will also service the considerable and growing flow of people and capital between Kenya and North Asia, with major Chinese investment in Africa generating passenger demand in both directions.Etihad began dedicated cargo services to Nairobi in March, 2009 and now operates five freighter flights with a total capacity of 340 tonnes each week. This will increase by 5% from April 1, 2012.
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