Etihad to begin new US route in September

Etihad to begin new US route in SeptemberEtihad Airways has announced that its inaugural flight from Abu Dhabi to Chicago will take off on September 2.

The sources said that initially, there will be flights three times a week to the third-largest city in the US, and from October 1, flights on that route would be daily. The move is aimed at consolidating Etihad's network in North America.

The sources said that Etihad will operate an Airbus A340-500 wide body aircraft on the Abu Dhabi-Chicago route, with the capacity of 240 passengers.

The airline expects company revenues to reach $3.1 billion (Dh11.4 billion) this year.

The sources said that for fiscal 2009, Etihad's new destinations are Melbourne, Chicago, Athens, Istanbul, Larnaca and Hyderabad.

At present, Etihad operates 42 Airbus and Boeing aircraft and flies to more than 50 destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and North America.