Dubai: Etihad Regional will launch two weekly flights to Dusseldorf, Germany, from its Zurich, Switzerland hub next month while axing its previously announced Zurich-Graz, Austria route.
An Etihad Regional spokesperson confirmed that the airline decided to backflip on the Graz launch in favour of flying to Linz, which is also in Austria. In November, the airline announced it would launch both Graz and Linz in June 2014. The two cities are around two hours apart – or 220 kilometres.
Etihad Airways is seeking regulatory approval to take a 33.3 per cent stake in the recently rebranded Etihad Regional, formerly Darwin Airline, which is still the operator.
Etihad Regional will also commence services in June from Zurich to four previously announced destinations. It will fly daily to Linz in Austria, Verona in Italy, Lyon in France and four times weekly to Florence in Italy.
Etihad Regional’s major hub is in Geneva, Switzerland, however, it has focused on developing its base in Zurich since it rebranded last November.
Etihad Airways is launching daily Abu Dhabi-Zurich flights from June 1.
