Etihad Airways will add Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, and the Indian city of Ahmedabad to its rapidly growing network starting November.

The two new cities will expand the airline’s reach to 86 passenger and cargo destinations around the world, a statement from Etihad said.

The new routes will each be served by an Airbus A320 aircraft and support the airline’s aims to connect key strategic cities with its home base of Abu Dhabi, enhancing commercial and leisure travel, the statement said.

Flights between Abu Dhabi and Addis Ababa, its ninth destination in Africa, will initially operate five times a week, increasing to daily in 2013.

Flights will operate daily between Abu Dhabi and Ahmedabad, the airline’s ninth destination in India.

James Hogan, president and CEO, Etihad Airways, said: “We continue to build strength and depth to our global network and the addition of Addis Ababa, a major East African hub, and Ahmedabad, the fifth largest city in India, will make significant contributions to traffic flows to Abu Dhabi and beyond.”

“Addis Ababa and Ahmedabad are economic centres in their respective countries and daily flights to Abu Dhabi will build greater ties with the UAE’s capital as it continues to invest in world-class development projects and attract business and leisure travellers,” he said.

Ethiopia is the largest African market that Etihad Airways is yet to serve and the second most populous country in Africa. It is expected to contribute strong business and leisure traffic within the airline’s network, the statement said.

There is also a growing Ethiopian population living and working in Abu Dhabi and the UAE which will benefit from the new Abu Dhabi – Addis Ababa service, it said.

Etihad Airways’ new service to Ahmedabad will offer nearly 1,000 seats a week into the Guajarati city and the November launch will coincide with the beginning of the peak travel season in India.

The airline anticipates strong traffic flows from Ahmedabad to Abu Dhabi and onto its European and US destinations.

The A320 aircraft that will serve both cities have two cabins with 16 Pearl Business Class seats and 120 Coral Economy Class seats. – TradeArabia News Service