Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has announced plans to expand its network in China with daily non-stop, return services between Abu Dhabi and Shanghai - subject to government approval.
The new flights, scheduled to commence on 1 March 2012, will make Shanghai the airline's 70th global destination.
Etihad Airways' Chief Executive Officer James Hogan announced the new services today in an address to 300 representatives of the global aviation industry who are attending the Aviation Outlook China Summit in Shanghai this week.
"Shanghai, the most populous city in mainland China, is a strategically important addition to Etihad's China network.
"Together with our daily flights to the capital Beijing, the Shanghai route will offer travellers competitive access to the two biggest centres for commerce, trade, government, culture, and tourism in China.
"For travellers originating in China, this means a wider choice of convenient flight options to the UAE, Middle East, Europe, and North America, and on the way, the award-winning combination of luxuriously appointed aircraft, best-in-class service, and some of the finest international cuisine in the sky.
"Through Etihad's efficient Crystal Cargo operation, we also intend to pursue growth of the valuable export trade for high tech and other commodities."
Today's announcement follows a press conference in Chengdu yesterday, where Mr Hogan released details of the airline's planned new services to the Sichuan province.
"The commencement of services to Chengdu and Shanghai and this week's increase in frequency to Beijing are major investments of aircraft and commercial resources into China. It reflects our confidence in the current strength and future potential of the inbound and outbound travel markets," Mr Hogan said.
Etihad will operate an Airbus A330-200 aircraft on the Abu Dhabi-Shanghai route, configured in Pearl Business and Coral Economy class.
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About Shanghai
Shanghai has a population of more than 23 million making it the most populous city in People's Republic of China. The city is located in eastern China at the mouth of the Yangtze River. It has grown rapidly in the past two decades and is known worldwide as a global city, exerting strong influence over the nation's - and increasingly the world's - finance, commerce, fashion, technology and culture.
Once a fishing and textiles town, Shanghai grew in importance in the 19th century due to its favourable port location and was one of the cities opened to foreign trade by the 1842 Treaty of Nanking. The city then flourished as a centre of commerce between east and west, and became a multinational hub of finance and business in the 1930s. With the Communist Party takeover of the mainland in 1949, the city's international influence was observed to decline. In 1990, the economic reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping resulted in an intense re-development of the city, aiding the return of finance and foreign investment to the city. Shanghai is now aiming to be a global finance hub and international shipping centre in the future, and is one of the world's major financial centres.
Shanghai is also a popular tourist destination renowned for its historical landmarks such as The Bund, City God Temple and Yuyuan Garden as well as the extensive and growing Pudong skyline. It has been described as the "showpiece" of the booming economy of mainland China.
Source: Wikipedia (July 2, 2011)
For more information
Stephen Mahoney
Senior Manager Communications - Australia and Asia
Email: smahoney@etihad.ae
Mobile: +61 488 125 538
© Press Release 2011
