Germany’s second largest carrier airberlin has announced plans to introduce a second daily flight to UAE capital Abu Dhabi from its hub in Berlin starting from October 26.

The airline aims to build on its successful partnership with equity and codeshare partner Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the UAE, said the company in its statement.
 
The two airlines will also expand their codeshare agreement from mid-February, with airberlin guests able to book flights to six Indian destinations served by Etihad Airways: New Delhi, Mumbai, Cochin, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Bangalore.

Travellers in India will also benefit from improved connection options within the wider airberlin route network to destinations across Europe, such as Copenhagen, Krakow, Stockholm and Warsaw.
 
The airline’s Berlin-Abu Dhabi route, which has been operated since January 2012, provides the only direct connection between Germany’s capital city and the UAE.

It is operated using an Airbus A330-200 aircraft with 19 FullFlat Business Class seats and 279 Economy Class seats.
 
As a result of the increased frequency, airberlin and Etihad Airways will operate a total of 56 flights per week between Germany and the UAE, including double-daily connections from Berlin, Dusseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich.

The schedule has been optimised to provide maximum connectivity to the Etihad Airways network, increasing two-way connectivity from 19 to 43 destinations with Etihad Airways via Abu Dhabi to the Gulf region, as well as North Asia (Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo Narita), South East Asia (Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta), Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane), and six destinations in India.

In addition, airberlin is planning to include Perth and Seoul in its schedule through an expanded codeshare with Etihad Airways, said its CEO Wolfgang Prock-Schauer\

“Thanks to the constant expansion of our partnership with Etihad Airways, we are taking greater advantage of our synergies and can offer our guests even more travel possibilities and convenience. The additional daily flight will significantly increase the capacity on our Berlin-Abu Dhabi service, offering our guests even better and wider access to Etihad Airways’ international network,” he added.
 
Etihad president and CEO James Hogan said the airline's partnership with airberlin continues to move from strength to strength, with 560,000 passengers flying across its two networks in 2013, a 74 per cent increase on the previous year.
 
"The Abu Dhabi-Berlin route is testament to this partnership’s success and often has seat load factors above 90 per cent in peak months. It is therefore crucial to build upon the success of the route and ensure that demand and capacity are better matched," he added.-TradeArabia News Service