Etihad flights to Almaty in Kazakhstan start in December

Abu Dhabi:Etihad Airways will launch flights on December 2, 2008 to Almaty in Kazakhstan from its Abu Dhabi home base. Almaty, Kazakhstan's largest city, with a population of 1.2 million people, will be served non-stop, four times a week from Abu Dhabi with the airline's Airbus A319.

Flight EY296 will depart Abu Dhabi on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 10:20am and arrive in Almaty at 4:35pm the same day. Return flight EY297 will depart Almaty on the same days at 5:35pm, arriving in Abu Dhabi at 8:30pm.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways' chief executive, said: "With its vast oil and gas fields, Kazakhstan is sitting on some of the richest mineral resources in the world. Despite its enormous economic potential, this is a market however, which at present is under-served in terms of air links."

Almaty will be Etihad's ninth destination in its rapidly expanding flight network in the Asia-Pacific region, which already includes services to Brisbane, Sydney, Manila, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Bangkok and Beijing.

Etihad will operate a two-class Airbus A319 configured to carry 104 passengers with 20 seats in business class and 84 in economy class.