Etihad Airways, flag carrier of the United Arab Emirates, will add the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, to its rapidly growing network in November 2012 according to Abu Dhabi City Guide.  

The new routes will be served by an Airbus A320 aircraft and support Etihad Airways’ aims to connect key strategic cities with its home base of Abu Dhabi, enhancing commercial and leisure travel with the UAE’s capital city.

Flights between Abu Dhabi and Addis Ababa, its ninth destination in Africa, will initially operate five times a week, increasing to daily in 2013.

Etihad Airways officials believe that by building strength and depth to its global network and the addition of Addis Ababa, a major East African hub, will make significant contributions to traffic flows to Abu Dhabi and beyond.

Addis Ababa is Ethiopia’s economic centres and daily flights to Abu Dhabi will build greater ties with the UAE’s capital as it continues to invest in world-class development projects and attract business and leisure travellers.

Ethiopia is the largest African market that Etihad Airways is yet to serve and the second most populous country in Africa. It is expected to contribute strong business and leisure traffic within the airline’s network.

There is also a growing Ethiopian population living and working in Abu Dhabi and the UAE which will benefit from the new Abu Dhabi – Addis Ababa service.

The A320 aircraft that will serve Addis Ababa have two cabins with 16 Pearl Business Class seats and 120 Coral Economy Class seats. Established by Royal decree in July 2003 and based in Abu Dhabi, Etihad commenced operations in November 2003. Etihad was awarded the World's Leading Airline in 2009 and 2010 by the World Travel Awards.