Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, has launched a major nationwide advertising campaign in Australia showcasing the airline’s product and service offerings.

The “change to the best” campaign highlights the strength of Etihad’s global network, and signals Etihad’s ambition to become the airline of choice for overseas travel from Australia.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways chief executive officer, said: “We are proud of our success in building the Etihad brand in Australia in just four short years of operation.”

“This is all thanks to the hard work of our team in Australia and the generous support of the travel industry and the hundreds of thousands of Australians who have chosen to fly with us.”

Hogan said there was mounting proof that Etihad had brought a superior alternative to the Australian travel market.

“Our market share is growing at the expense of the local competition; Australian members of the Etihad Guest loyalty programme are surging up the tiers; and travellers worldwide are voting for us in best-in-category awards such as the 2011 Skytrax World Airline Awards where we received the Best First Class gong,” Hogan continued.

“These indicators reflect our continuing investment in a young, state-of-the-art fleet of aircraft; luxuriously appointed cabin interiors; world-class customer service training; and engineering and maintenance excellence.”

“They also underscore the appeal to our customers of one-stop services and seamless connectivity through our hub in Abu Dhabi to Etihad’s global network of more than 65 destinations and our 30-plus codeshare partners. The alliance with Virgin Australia, in particular, offers Australians a compelling alternative for domestic connections to Etihad international services and the benefits of loyalty program reciprocity,” he concluded.

The campaign will run for five weeks in national print media and in selected metropolitan newspapers and weekend magazines in the key markets of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. – TradeArabia News Service