Etihad celebrates first flight to Seoul

Etihad Airways celebrated its inaugural flight to Seoul’s Incheon Airport with a series of commemorative events to celebrate the carrier’s entrance into the South Korean market.

 The flight from Abu Dhabi, which landed at Seoul’s Incheon Airport at 12:05pm on December 11, was greeted with a traditional ‘water canon’ ceremony on landing, followed by a ribbon cutting ceremony attended by James Hogan, CEO,  Etihad Airways

 Hogan said: “This is an important time for Etihad Airways as we start to establish our brand in the Korean market. We have held a series of important activities over the past week, which have served to build awareness of Etihad’s outstanding products and showcase the high levels of service of the World’s Leading Airline.”

 During the celebrations Etihad executives met with major Korean government, business and industry leaders during their time in Seoul, as well as hosting a cocktail function during the week at Seoul’s Grand Hyatt for more than 500 Korean business leaders, celebrities, and travel trade and media guests.

 The visit also afforded Etihad an opportunity to outline some of the benefits of its codeshare agreement with Asiana Airlines, signed in October this year.

 “The Etihad and Asiana alliance came into effect with the inaugural flight, and we are delighted to be working with such a well respected, premium airline. We will look at options to expand the codeshare agreement in future to build depth into the networks of both airlines, which is always very good news for our business and leisure travellers,”said Hogan. .

 During the visit, Mr Hogan thanked UAE Government and General Civil Aviation Authority as well as the South Korean Government and its Civil Aviation Authority for the support shown during the preparations for the commencement of services between the two capitals.