Etihad Airways is set to launch a fourth daily service between Abu Dhabi and London. The airline's new service is set to commence on October 27th 2019 and will allow a mid-morning departure from Abu Dhabi.

The route from Abu Dhabi to London is one of particular focus to Etihad. In fact, earlier in the year, the carrier had a very busy schedule on the route. Following the collapse of Jet Airways, slots which Etihad owned were suddenly not being used. As Heathrow has a use it or lose it rule, Etihad had to fill the slots.

Current service

Currently, Etihad Airways operates three daily services between Abu Dhabi and London year-round. These three services are all operated by the Airbus A380. Meanwhile, the two additional flights put on after Jet Airways collapsed were operated by a Boeing 787.

Currently, the airline's Airbus A380 flights are scheduled to operate to Heathrow as follows:

  • EY11 departs Abu Dhabi at 02:40, touching down in London at 06:45;
  • EY19 departs Abu Dhabi at 08:05, touching down in London at 12:00;
  • EY25 departs Abu Dhabi at 10:45, touching down in London at 14:50.

The return to Abu Dhabi operates as:

  • EY12 departs London at 09:00, touching down in Abu Dhabi at 20:05;
  • EY20 departs London at 14:05, touching down in Abu Dhabi at 01:05 the next day;
  • EY26 departs London at 20:00, touching down in Abu Dhabi at 07:00 the next day.
Etihad Airways A380 Routes
Etihad has three daily A380 services to London. Photo: Tom Boon - Simple Flying

New Boeing 787 service

As you can see, there is currently a large gap of 16 hours between EY25 and EY11 departing Abu Dhabi. By integrating a new year-round flight into their schedule, Etihad's London Heathrow service will become much more convenient.

The new flight will be operated by a Boeing 787-9 aircraft and will operate leaving Abu Dhabi in the afternoon, returning from Heathrow in the evening. Its schedule is as follows:

  • EY17 will depart Abu Dhabi at 13:40, touching down in London at 17:45;
  • EY18 will depart London at 21:05, touching down in Abu Dhabi at 08:05 the next day.
Etihad Airways Boeing 787 London Heathrow
The route from London to Abu Dhabi. Photo: GCMaps

Two class aircraft

The Boeing 787 being used on the fourth Abu Dhabi to London service is laid out in two classes, with 299 seats. This comprises 28 "Business Studios", and 271 "Economy Smart Seats". This is a slight difference to the A380s on the remaining flights, which offer everything from economy seats right up to a three-room cabin known as "The Residence".

Speaking about the new route, Robin Kamark, Commercial Officer of the Etihad Aviation Group said: "The flagship Abu Dhabi to London route is tremendously popular with point-to-point business and leisure travelers, and those transiting beyond our hub."

He added: "Adding a fourth year-round flight will provide much-needed capacity and optimized timings and easy connections to key destinations". In fact, with the additional daily flight to London Heathrow, the carrier will provide 42 flights to and from the United Kingdom per week. This includes two daily Boeing 787 services serving the city of Manchester.

What do you make of Etihad's new route? Let us know in the comments!