Etihad Airways is set to launch a twice-weekly service to Vienna this summer. The flight will start in just under a month, with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner serving the route. The route comes as travel restrictions remain in place in both directions.

Around the world, airlines are looking to rebuild their flight schedules after the worst 15 months imaginable. While some airlines, such as Qatar Airways, continued flying through the height of the pandemic others, such as Etihad, weren't so lucky. The UAE grounded all airlines towards the end of March 2020, with a long recovery still ahead.

Flying to Vienna

Etihad Airways will launch twice-weekly flights to Vienna next month. The flights are due to start on July 18th and will depart from Abu Dhabi on Thursdays and Sundays. As Etihad has been trimming its fleet lately, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner has become the main tool in its arsenal.

Interestingly, according to flight schedule data, the flight will not head directly back to Abu Dhabi. Instead, it will proceed onwards to Milan's Malpensa Airport, before returning home. Three different sets of tickets are on sale for the route right now,

  • Abu Dhabi to Vienna
  • Vienna to Abu Dhabi
  • Milan to Abu Dhabi

It is not possible to fly from Abu Dhabi or Vienna to Milan on this service. For those seeking to fly to Milan, another direct service is in operation. According to flight schedule data, the flights will be operated to the following schedule,

  • EY 147 - Abu Dhabi (AUH) 07:30 - Vienna (VIE) 11:20 - 05h50m
  • EY 147 - Vienna (VIE) 12:45 - Milan Malpensa (MXP) 14:15 - 01h30m
  • EY147 - Milan Malpensa (MXP) 15:40 - Abu Dhabi (AUH) 23:25 - 05h55m
Etihad, Boeing 787-10, Vienna
The flight returns to Abu Dhabi via Milan's Malpensa Airport. Photo: Cirium

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Using the Boeing 787-10

According to data from ch-aviation.com, the Abu-Dhabi-based carrier currently has 39 787 Dreamliners, of which just nine are the larger -10 model. Etihad hasn't revealed which variant it will use for the service, although flight schedules indicate that the -10 will fly to Vienna, meaning that the city could get a visit from the Greenliner, or a former Boeing ecoDemonstrator. Etihad is offsetting all the CO2 generated by its Greenliner liveried 787-10 this year.

The Etihad Boeing 787-10 comes in a two cabin configuration, seating a total of 336 guests. According to ch-aviation.com data, the front of the aircraft has 32 business class seats in a 1-2-1 layout. These seats have a pitch of 73 inches (185 cm). Behind this is the economy cabin comprising 304 seats in a 3-3-3 configuration. These seats have a pitch of 31 inches (79 cm).

Etihad, Boeing 787-10, ecoDemonstrator
The airline's Boeing 787-10 will be deployed on the route. Photo: Etihad

Etihad's nine Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner aircraft are registered consecutively from A6-BMA to A6-BMI. The oldest is 2.79 years old, while the youngest (A6-BMI) is just 0.86 years old. According to ch-aviation.com's data, A6-BMI has a current market value of $126.12 million, despite having been used as part of Boeing's ecoDemonstrator program.

Are you excited to see Etihad's new triangle route take to the skies? Let us know what you think and why in the comments.