Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, commenced operations to Japan today with the launch of its Nagoya-Abu Dhabi service.

Etihad will initially fly four times a week to Nagoya, via Beijing, increasing to five flights a week from March 29, operating two-class Airbus A330 aircraft on the route.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways chief executive officer, said: 'These new services, our first to Japan, are very important to Etihad. We believe the connection between Abu Dhabi and Nagoya will offer opportunities to grow tourism, as well as foster commercial growth and benefit key industries - particularly energy, environmental services and manufacturing, for which Nagoya is becoming a centre of excellence.'

Etihad will expand its Japan operations with the launch of Abu Dhabi-Tokyo services on  March 27.

With the addition of Nagoya and Tokyo to its network, Etihad offers services to eight destinations in the Far East (including Beijing, Jakarta, Manila, Singapore, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur) and 60 worldwide.

In addition to its own operations, Etihad will also offer codeshare services with Japan's ANA from March 1, offering connections for Etihad passengers from Nagoya to Chitose and Fukuoka and through Tokyo's Narita Airport to Osaka, and for ANA passengers, connections to Etihad's worldwide network via its Abu Dhabi hub.

In addition to codesharing, a mileage tie-up programme and combination of passenger services will be implemented as part of the agreement.-TradeArabia News Service