Etihad Airways is set to increase its services from Abu Dhabi to Melbourne and Sydney to a daily offering from March 27, 2022 in a boost to inbound and outbound travel.

Etihad Airways Vice President Sales – Australia and New Zealand, Sarah Built, said the new daily services will be operated using a fleet of modern Boeing 787 aircraft in a two-cabin configuration and “have been timed to offer travellers a mix of morning and evening departures that provide convenient two-way connectivity to Europe, the Middle East and Africa”.

With the new flights and through the airline’s codeshare partnership with Virgin Australia, business and leisure travellers will have access to connecting options on a single ticket to over 80 routes on Virgin Australia’s growing domestic network, according to Built.

“Etihad is excited to ramp up services to Melbourne and Sydney at the end of March, and it’s the perfect timing given the reopening of Australia’s borders and Etihad celebrating 15 years of operations to Australia,” she said.

“Etihad’s combined double-daily flights to eastern Australia will boost vital trade and tourism ties while providing guests with convenient travel options to Abu Dhabi and beyond to the rest of Etihad’s network.

“Close to 900,000 travellers flew with Etihad to and from Australia in 2019, with Melbourne and Sydney both being some of the best-performing routes in Etihad’s global network, and Etihad is confident that the market will continue to recover as Covid-19 recedes,” Built said.