Etihad to launch third daily flight to Riyadh

Etihad Airways has announced plans to introduce a third daily flight on the Abu Dhabi – Riyadh route from February 1.

The airline said in a statement that the extra services underscore its commitment to offer guests greater choice and more travel options between the capital cities of the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

The new daily late night departures from both Abu Dhabi and Riyadh are timed to allow guests to spend full days in either city, Etihad said.

Together with a Boeing 777 and the recently-introduced Boeing 787 on the route, the new service will increase the number of weekly seats to 10,600 between Abu Dhabi and Riyadh.

Codeshare partner flynas will continue to operate a daily flight on the route.

Etihad Aviation Group chief strategy and planning officer Kevin Knight said: “Our expanded services between Abu Dhabi and Riyadh are in line with Etihad Airways’ strategy to offer more choice, greater frequency and additional travel options when aircraft availability and market conditions permit.

“The extra flights will cater to the strong demand between the two capital cities, and bring closer our global network to Riyadh over our Abu Dhabi hub.”

Etihad Airways launched scheduled flights to Saudi Arabia with services to Riyadh in 2004, and has steadily grown capacity with additional frequencies and aircraft upgrades to its current double daily operation.

From February 1, the airline will operate 70 return flights each week to and from four Saudi cities. On the Riyadh route alone, Etihad Airways has flown more than 2.5 million guests since 2004.