Etihad to add Shanghai to its China network

Etihad Airways has announced plans to expand its network in China with daily non-stop return services between Abu Dhabi and Shanghai, making Shanghai the airline's 70th global destination. While the plans are currently subject to government approval, once approved the new flights will start operations as of March 1, 2012. In a statement released yesterday, James Hogan, Etihad Airways Chief Executive Officer, said that Shanghai is a strategically important addition to Etihad's China network, offering "travellers competitive access to the two biggest centres for commerce, trade, government, culture, and tourism in China." These expansion plans come after an increase in Etihad's flights to Beijing from five per week to daily as of July 2. Article continues below Wider choice Etihad's first destination in China was to Beijing in March 2008, with four flights per week. In March 2010 a fifth weekly service was added until this month's shift to daily. Hogan said that this would also mean a wider choice for travellers coming from China to the UAE, the Middle East, Europe and North America. The airline also has plans to provide new services to Chengdu in Sichuan province in southwest China, according to the statement. Etihad will operate an Airbus A330-200 aircraft on the Abu Dhabi-Shanghai route, configured in Pearl Business and Coral Economy class.