Etihad Airways to launch daily flights between Abu Dhabi and Belgrade

Abu Dhabi, April 16, 2013 (WAM) - Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, will commence daily nonstop flights between its home base of Abu Dhabi and Belgrade, the capital of Serbia, from June 15, 2013. JatAirways, Serbia's national carrier, will place its JU code on the new service, as well as to 21 destinations on the Etihad Airways network. In return Etihad Airways will place its EY code on 23 of JatAirways' European flights. All subject to government and regulatory approval, Etihad said in a press release. These new Etihad Airways flights will help provide better access to Belgrade for several hundred thousand Serbian nationals living around the world. Etihad Airways will operate a two cabin Airbus A319 aircraft on the service between Abu Dhabi and Belgrade, configured to carry 106 passengers, with 16 seats in Pearl Business Class and 90 seats in Coral Economy Class. The announcement was made yesterday, Monday April 15, at a media conference in Belgrade hosted by James Hogan, Etihad Airways' President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr Hogan was joined at the media conference by Vladimir Ognjenovi, JatAirways' Chief Executive Officer. In return, subject to government and regulatory approval, Etihad Airways will place its EY code on JatAirways flights between Belgrade and Amsterdam, Athens, Berlin, Brussels, Copenhagen, Dusseldorf, Rome, Frankfurt, Gothenburg, Istanbul, Heathrow, Larnaca, Milan, Moscow, Podgorica, Sarajevo, Skopje, Stockholm, Stuttgart, Thessaloniki, Tivat, Vienna and Zurich. JatAirways will also place its code on a number of the flights operated by Etihad Airways' equity partner, airberlin. A major highlight of this would be the provision of a direct link for passengers travelling from Belgrade, via Berlin, to Chicago in the US. The capital of Illinois has the second largest Serbian population of any city in the world, with an estimated 200,000 Serb nationals living in Chicago, and up to 500,000 residents of Serb origin. Belgrade will become the third of six new destinations to be served by Etihad Airways in 2013, following the launch in March of flights to Washington, D.C., and in May to Amsterdam. Services will commence later this year to Sao Paulo, Brazil; Sana'a, Yemen; and Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. – Emirates News Agency, WAM