Berlin will be Etihad’s new German headquarters

Berlin will become the new German headquarters for Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates said on Wednesday. Etihad Airways President and Chief Executive Officer, James Hogan, announced the move, effective from June 1, this afternoon. "Germany is the largest outbound travel market in Europe and a critically important part of our global network so it makes good business sense to be based in the country's capital. "This will also enable us to better leverage the benefits of our strategic partnership with airberlin," Hogan said. In late December, Etihad increased its stake in airberlin to 29.21 per cent, making it the single biggest shareholder in Europe's sixth largest airline. Etihad Airways operates 25 flights a week between Germany and Abu Dhabi, servicing Munich, Frankfurt and Düsseldorf. In mid-January airberlin began flying from Berlin to Abu Dhabi four times a week and this will become a daily service from March 25, when it will also launch daily flights between Düsseldorf and the UAE capital. Hogan said moving the airline's main German sales and marketing office from Munich to Berlin should also help stimulate local employment opportunities. Currently, the airline has nearly 50 staff based in Germany while more than 150 German nationals work for the airline. It will continue operate its three sales offices in Munich, Frankfurt and Düsseldorf. Etihad Airways is to substantially boost flights to Egypt. The four additional services means the carrier will operate 18 flights to Cairo each week from June 2012. The extra Airbus A320 services will also significantly improve connectivity over the airline's Abu Dhabi hub to key destinations in Southeast Asia and Australia. James Hogan, Etihad Airways President and Chief Executive Officer, said: "Despite the Arab Spring's impact, this route has continued to perform strongly and over the past eight years our services to Cairo have exceeded our expectations. We are pleased to be able to build on this success with these additional flights. "Cairo is a special destination for us due to the established cultural and commercial ties between Egypt and the UAE. We expect to see continuing strong demand on this route, particularly from government and business travellers, as well as the Egyptian expatriate population living in Abu Dhabi and across the UAE."