Dubai : Etihad Airways, the UAE flag carrier, has commenced non-stop flights from its home base in Abu Dhabi to Tokyo.
Inaugural flight EY878 left Abu Dhabi at 10:25pm on Saturday and landed at Narita airport in Tokyo at 1.35pm yesterday.
Etihad will operate five non-stop flights per week to Tokyo, in addition to the five flights per week it offers to Nagoya.
The Abu Dhabi-based airline will fly a three-class Airbus A330-200 on the route and will feature in-flight services dedicated to the Japanese market, including a tailored menu, local in-flight entertainment content and cabin crew consisting of a number of Japanese speakers and nationals.
James Hogan, Etihad Airways Chief Executive Officer, said Etihad was delighted operate to Tokyo and was expecting a high volume of traffic, particularly of business travellers.
"We also believe the variety of high profile attractions opening in Abu Dhabi in the coming years, including Ferrari World, The Louvre Abu Dhabi and Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, will be very attractive to Japanese leisure travellers," he said.
"Japan is a key market for Etihad and will be an important focus in 2010.
"We have worked closely with the Japanese Government to enable us to commence services between our two capital cities, and we thank them for their support."
Etihad's Tokyo services follow the commencement of the airline's flights to Nagoya in February and code-share services with ANA this month.
Trading relationships between the UAE and Japan are strong, with trade reaching $29.21 billion (Dh107.2 billion) annually.
Currently, there are approximately 350 Japanese companies and over 3,500 Japanese expatriates living in the UAE.
Since its establishment in 2003, Etihad has expanded its network to over 60 destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Australia, Europe, North American and Asia. Etihad's commitment to excellence in customer service resulted in the airline being named the World's Leading Airline at the 2009 World Travel Awards.
Tokyo route
Type of aircraft Airbus A330
Number of seats/services:
Diamond First Class 10 seats
Pearl Business Class 26 seats
Coral Economy Class 164 seats
