Greeted by a traditional water cannon salute on arrival, EY 23 touched down on schedule at the North Rhine Westphalia airport at 6:25am local time today.
The airline will initially operate four weekly return services to Düsseldorf, rising to a daily operation already in April 2012. The route is being served by an Airbus A330-300 aircraft, in a three-class configuration, offering eight Diamond First Class suites, 32 seats in Pearl Business class and 191 seats in Coral Economy class.
Forward bookings for the route are strong, both outbound and inbound from Düsseldorf to Abu Dhabi through to key destinations in Australasia and the Indian subcontinent.
“Germany is a strategically important market for Etihad Airways,” Etihad Airways’ Chief Commercial Officer, Peter Baumgartner, said.
“We have carried more than 1.7 million passengers to and from Germany since we started flights to Munich back in 2004, and now we operate 25 weekly services to Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich.
“Düsseldorf was a logical step in growing our European passenger operations. By growing direct point to point traffic between the two cities, we also look forward to strengthening business and leisure ties between the capital of the UAE and Germany.”
A key benefit to travellers of the new non-stop Abu Dhabi-Düsseldorf service is convenient flight arrival and departure times and network connectivity at the airline’s Abu Dhabi hub.
The schedule provides seamless onward connections to Etihad Airways’ extensive network across more than 40 markets. This includes destinations in the Middle East, Asia, Australia, the Indian subcontinent, and two of the airline’s newest routes – the Maldives and Seychelles.
“Etihad Airways’ new route to Düsseldorf will enhance industrial relations and promote economic cooperation, trade and tourism between the UAE and Germany. This development is part of the Abu Dhabi government’s keenness to develop good relations with Germany in various fields, vital for the implementation of the Abu Dhabi 2030 strategy,” Mohammed Ahmed Al Mahmood, UAE Ambassador to Germany said.
“The excellent relations and friendship between the UAE and Germany are growing rapidly in various fields. Etihad Airways’ new direct route to Düsseldorf came in time to keep pace with the significant growth in the relations between our two friendly countries.”
“We’re delighted to welcome Etihad Airways to Düsseldorf International Airport. Etihad is one of the most respected airlines in the world offering a high-class service in combination with a broad range of destinations on five continents. This is why Etihad and its base in Abu Dhabi perfectly fit with the route network expansion of Germany’s next-generation hub at Düsseldorf. Due to the economic power and the central location of both destinations in two major regions of the world, we are certain of the potential and the long-term nature of the new connection between Abu Dhabi and Düsseldorf,” Christoph Blume, CEO of Düsseldorf International Airport, said.