• Home
• /
• Aviation

San Francisco on Etihad radar

New service from Nov 18 to connect destinations in US, Canada and Mexico

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, said on Monday that it would expand its United States network to six destinations with the launch of a San Francisco service on 18 November 2014.

Daily flights will be operated to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) using a three-class Boeing 777-300ER aircraft leased from its strategic partner Jet Airways, offering a total of eight seats in First Class, 30 seats in Business Class and 308 seats in Economy Class.

The new service, in addition to providing a direct connection from San Francisco to Abu Dhabi, also offers convenient onward connectivity to more than 30 destinations across the GCC region, Middle East, Africa and the island nations of the Indian Ocean, available through Etihad Airways’ global network and code-share agreements with partner airlines, the airline said in a statement.

Flights to San Francisco will connect to destinations throughout the US, Canada and Mexico.

Etihad, which has a fleet of 102 Airbus and Boeing aircraft, and more than 210 aircraft on firm order, currently offers double-daily flights to New York and daily flights to Los Angeles Chicago and Washington, D.C.

The service to San Francisco will be followed by flights to Dallas / Fort Worth International Airport from December 32014, marking its sixth route within the country.

“The United States has been placed at the heart of our network development this year, with services launched to Los Angeles last month and flights commencing to Dallas in December 2014,” said James Hogan, President and chief executive officer of Etihad Airways.

“San Francisco is another strong addition and provides our first direct link to Northern California.

Given its global prominence as a tourism and business centre, we anticipate strong demand in First, Business and Economy Class, not only between San Francisco and Abu Dhabi, but onwards to destinations across our network and the networks of our code-share partners.

“This launch is also testament to our successful partnership with Jet Airways, as the route will be initiated using their Boeing 777-300ER aircraft through a lease agreement; the flights will be operated by Etihad Airways and its crew.” Located on the west coast of the United States, San Francisco is a leading tourism, culture and business hub. In 2013, a total of 16.9 million people visited the famous ‘City on the Bay’, as San Francisco is often described, with popular attractions including the breath-taking Golden Gate Bridge, the Fisherman’s Wharf marketplace, the abandoned prison on Alcatraz Island, and the large-scale shopping, theatre and restaurant haven of Union Square.

The multi-cultural city is also home to world-famous retailers such as The Gap, Banana Republic and Levi Strauss, as well as leading banking and financial services firms Wells Fargo and First Republic Bank, and the popular internet brands Twitter, StumbleUpon and Pinterest.

San Francisco is the 10^th route launch to be announced by Etihad Airways for 2014. New services have already commenced to Medina (1 February), Jaipur (1 April), Los Angeles (1

June), Zurich (1 June) and Yerevan (2 July), and will be followed by flights to Rome (15 July), Perth (15 July), Phuket (26 October), San Francisco (18 November) and Dallas (3 December).

Etihad Airways’ flights to and from San Francisco can be booked from today onwards on etihad.com, through Etihad Airways Contact Centres, or via travel agents.

Etihad has one of the youngest fleet in the world that consists of 71 Boeing 787s, 25 Boeing 777-X, 62 Airbus A350s and 10 Airbus A380s.

The Abu Dhabi based carrier has been on an aggressive expansion mode over the past few years by acquiring stakes in several carriers across the world.

Currently, Etihad holds equity investments in airberlin, Air Seychelles, Virgin Australia, Aer Lingus, Air Serbia and Jet Airways, and is in the process of formalising its equity investment in Swiss-based Etihad Regional, operated by Darwin Airline.