Etihad and Virgin Begin Joint Abu Dhabi-Australia Flights

Virgin Blue and Etihad Airways have teamed up to produce a joint flight service from Australia and Abu Dhabi that will begin in 2011.

The union will reach out to use V Australia for 27 weekly flights from Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi to Sydney will run twice daily, Abu Dhabi to Melbourne will run once daily, and Brisbane will receive flights from Abu Dhabi 6 times a week.

This partnership will mean that Virgin Blue will be the first Australian airline to be able to fly to the Middle East since the beginning of the 90’s. Virgin Blue will be able to offer passengers access to 65 destinations across the rest of the globe.

V Australia will begin flights from February next year, with Sydney to Abu Dhabi flights running three times a week. By the following year, three weekly services will run from Brisbane to Abu Dhabi as well. V Australia will be using the new additions to their fleet, the Boeing 777-300ER. These planes have been much in demand due to the new and improved business class seats that have been added to each plane.

John Borghetti, the Chief Executive of Virgin Blue spoke of the alliance, and how it will unlock a new network for Virgin Blue: “Everybody wins from this partnership”

Chief Executive of Etihad, James Hogan said: “We’re excited to facilitate the entry of V Australia into Abu Dhabi as the first Australian airline to fly to the United Arab Emirates.”

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