Etihad and airBaltic mark start of direct Riga-Abu Dhabi flights

Abu Dhabi: Etihad Airways and airBaltic have marked the start of direct Riga-Abu Dhabi flights with a ceremony at Riga International Airport in Latvia. Attended by the Latvian Prime Minister, government officials, airline executives, business leaders, travel agents and media, the event also officially kicked off a new Etihad Airways-airBaltic code-share partnership. airBaltic will now operate an Airbus A319 aircraft four times a week between the Latvian capital and Etihad Airways' Abu Dhabi hub. The aircraft is configured with 14 seats in Business Class and 102 seats in Economy Class. Etihad Airways has placed its EY flight code on the new airBaltic operated service and beyond to 15 cities, including Alesund, Barcelona, Bergen, Billund, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Lappeenranta, Oslo, Prague, Stavanger, Stockholm, Tallinn, Turku, Vienna and Vilnius. Subject to regulatory approvals, airBaltic will soon place its BT flight code on Etihad Airways flights beyond Abu Dhabi to Cairo, Jakarta, Singapore, Bangkok, Amman and Muscat. The UAE is one of Latvia's main trading partners in the Gulf region and in 2012 Latvia's exports to the UAE reached 72 million Euros, 102 per cent up on 2011. "We very much look forward to welcoming airBaltic's customers on our flights beyond Abu Dhabi to key destinations across the globe. Equally, I have full confidence that airBaltic will extend their hospitality to our customers over Riga." – Emirates News Agency, WAM