Etihad eyes second daily flight to Johannesburg

Etihad Airways has announced significant changes to its daily Johannesburg service from January 24, 2012 and says it is looking to bring in a second daily flight to the South African city. Improvements to the Johannesburg flight timings will provide new morning and evening departure options from both Abu Dhabi and Johannesburg, the carrier said in a statement. The new flight timings will establish seamless connection opportunities to Etihad Airways destinations on the Indian Subcontinent, and across North and South Asia. James Hogan, Etihad Airways CEO, said: "We believe this new schedule will open up a number of opportunities for our Johannesburg service and could eventually enable us to introduce a second daily flight." Under the new schedule, all Etihad Airways flights to South Africa will terminate in Johannesburg, and no longer operate through to Cape Town. The airline said it is examining other means of serving the Cape Town market, and already has in place arrangements to offer passengers connections in partnership with local carriers. The airline began flying to Johannesburg in December 2005 and in the last six years has carried more than half a million passengers to and from South Africa.