Etihad Airways has introduced its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner into commercial service.
The first flight, operated by a Boeing 787-9, departed Abu Dhabi yesterday for the seven hour 25 minute flight to Dusseldorf, Germany.
“This is a tremendous milestone for Etihad Airways,” said Etihad Airways president and CEO James Hogan. “The Boeing 787 is without doubt the most technologically advanced aircraft in its class. It will provide us with a clear reduction in operating costs and carbon emissions, at maximum reliability and efficiency.”
Around 14.8 million passengers travelled with Etihad in 2014, a rise of 23% from the previous yearThe B787 feature eight First Suites, 28 Business Studios and 199 Economy Smart Seats, On-board décor and lighting has been inspired by “contemporary modern Arabian design”, complementing the new ‘Facets of Abu Dhabi’ design identity recently introduced by the airline.
The new Dreamliner comes as the gulf carrier posted record passenger traffic numbers for 2014.
Around14.8 million passengers flew with Etihad last year, an increase of 23 per from 2013. Etihad said the growth in passenger demand continued to “outstrip the airline’s capacity increase”.
Etihad Airways introduced 10 additional destinations to its global route network in 2014, with new services launched to Medina, Jaipur, Los Angeles and Zurich in the first half of the year, and Perth, Rome, Yerevan, Phuket, San Francisco and Dallas in the second half of the year.
Frequencies were increased on 23 existing routes across the world in 2014.