Etihad adds daily flight between Abu Dhabi-Dusseldorf, Airberlin cuts the route

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways has announced that it will soon add a new daily service to the German city of Dusseldorf as part of its expansion plans.

The new service, effective March 26, 2017, will increase frequency on the route to 14 flights per week.

The added flight – EY 29 will depart Abu Dhabi at 8.55am and arrive in Dusseldorf at 2.10pm. The return flight EY 30, will leave from the German city at 9pm and arrive in the UAE capital at 5.50am.

The new route will be operated by an Airbus A330-200, complementing the existing daily Boeing B787-9 service.

However Etihad partner airline Airberlin, which also operates a daily service between Dusseldorf and Abu Dhabi, will discontinue the route and redeploy the aircraft onto other markets from the beginning of the 2017 summer schedule, a statement said.

No specific dates were disclosed.

Passengers booked on Airberlin flights from Dusseldorf to Abu Dhabi and beyond will be offered services operated by Etihad, the statement added.

Etihad’s new double daily schedule will provide greater choice to local passengers travelling between Abu Dhabi and Dusseldorf, and further increase connectivity to and from Germany, the airline said.

With the additional capacity, Etihad’s frequency between Abu Dhabi and its three German gateways of Dusseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich will increase from 35 to 42 services a week, with double daily flights to each city. Airberlin also operates twice-daily flights between Abu Dhabi and Berlin.

Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways CEO, said: “Increased frequency to our key destinations globally is a focus for Etihad Airways as expansion ensures more travel options for guests looking for greater flexibility.”

Thomas Schnalke, Düsseldorf Airport CEO, added: “North Rhine-Westphalia is a key business region, home to many international companies, and it is hugely important to offer the best possible accessibility for business travellers from the Gulf.”