Etihad launches daily flights to San Francisco

MANILA, Philippines - Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, will expand its United States network to six destinations with the launch of a San Francisco service on Nov. 18, 2014.

Daily flights will be operated to San Francisco International Airport (SFO) using a three-class Boeing 777-300ER aircraft leased from its strategic partner Jet Airways, offering a total of eight seats in First Class, 30 seats in Business Class and 308 seats in Economy Class.

In addition to providing a direct connection from San Francisco to Abu Dhabi, the new service offers convenient onward connectivity to more than 30 destinations across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, Middle East, Africa and the island nations of the Indian Ocean, available through Etihad Airways’ global network and codeshare agreements with partner airlines.

Similarly in the opposite direction, flights to San Francisco will connect to destinations throughout the US, Canada and Mexico.

San Francisco is the latest addition to Etihad Airways’ US network. The airline currently offers double-daily flights to New York and daily flights to Los Angeles (LAX), Chicago (ORD) and Washington, D.C. (IAD).

The forthcoming service to San Francisco will be followed by flights to Dallas/Fort Worth (DFW) International Airport from Dec. 3, 2014, marking its sixth route within the country.

James Hogan, president and chief executive officer of Etihad Airways, said: “The United States has been placed at the heart of our network development this year, with services launched to Los Angeles last month and flights commencing to Dallas in December 2014.

“San Francisco is another strong addition and provides our first direct link to Northern California. Given its global prominence as a tourism and business center, we anticipate strong demand in First, Business and Economy Class, not only between San Francisco and Abu Dhabi, but onwards to destinations across our network and the networks of our codeshare partners.

“This launch is also testament to our successful partnership with Jet Airways, as the route will be initiated using their Boeing 777-300ER aircraft through a lease agreement; the flights will be operated by Etihad Airways and its crew.”

Located on the west coast of the United States, San Francisco is a leading tourism, culture and business hub. In 2013, a total of 16.9 million people visited the famous ‘City on the Bay’, as San Francisco is often described, with popular attractions including the breath-taking Golden Gate Bridge, the Fisherman’s Wharf marketplace, the abandoned prison on Alcatraz Island, and the large-scale shopping, theater and restaurant haven of Union Square.

The multi-cultural city is also home to world-famous retailers such as The Gap, Banana Republic and Levi Strauss, as well as leading banking and financial services firms Wells Fargo and First Republic Bank, and the popular Internet brands Twitter, StumbleUpon and Pinterest.

San Francisco is the 10th route launch to be announced by Etihad Airways for 2014. New services have already commenced to Medina (1 February), Jaipur (1 April), Los Angeles (1 June), Zurich (1 June) and Yerevan (2 July), and will be followed by flights to Rome (15 July), Perth (15 July), Phuket (26 October), San Francisco (18 November) and Dallas (3 December).