Virgin Australia partner Etihad Airways now flies daily between Abu Dhabi and Edinburgh, becoming the first and only airline to offer Sydneysiders a one-stop service to the Scottish capital.
Timed to connect perfectly with flight EY451 from Sydney and EY454 on the return, the Etihad’s Edinburgh flights also slot in nicely with Virgin Australia’s Sydney-Abu Dhabi service, VA29.
Using an Airbus A330-200 aircraft, Etihad guests have a choice of 22 fully-flat beds in business class…
… along with 240 seats in economy on what is the carrier’s first destination in Scotland, and third in the UK following London and Manchester.
“Scotland is the natural next step on our growth trajectory in the UK, with strong tourism and business traffic in both directions,” said Etihad Chief Commercial Officer Peter Baumgartner.
Flight EY27 departs Abu Dhabi at 2:20am each day to reach Edinburgh later that morning at 7:20am, while on the return EY28 is wheels-up at 9:10am ahead of a 7:40pm arrival in Abu Dhabi on the same calendar day.
Edinburgh follows London as the second most-visited city in the UK by Aussie travellers, 8% of which have Scottish ancestry.
Also read: Etihad Airbus A330 business class review, Abu Dhabi-Munich
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Chris is a a former contributor to Executive Traveller.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
31 Aug 2012
Total posts 213
That bed doesn't look remotely flat!
Singapore Airlines - KrisFlyer
14 Jan 2014
Total posts 340
During flight, the nose of the aircraft is slightly pointed up.
A good quality seat - like those seen on Ethiad - takes this into account, so that it is 180 degrees, fully flat during the flight.
Singapore Airlines - KrisFlyer
14 Jan 2014
Total posts 340
Hey Chris,
Maybe also mention that the biz class seats are arranged in a 1-2-1 staggered layout, offering direct aisle access for all biz class passengers.
Etihad have better Biz class product consistency than Qatar, and MUCH better product in general than Emirates. How Emirates get away with a 2-3-2 biz class layout on long haul aircraft (A380 being then only exception), is beyond me.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
06 Nov 2014
Total posts 357
I think it's all because of marketing. Believe it or not, to many average Joes they have not heard of Etihad! When I told them it's the national flag carrier of UAE, they go "oh... You mean Emirates!"
Some others who have heard of Etihad think Etihad is a subsidiary of Emirates or vice versa. But no doubt Emirate is better known than Etihad.
Singapore Airlines - KrisFlyer
14 Jan 2014
Total posts 340
But Chris isn't an average joe, and knows the difference
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
10 Jan 2012
Total posts 258
QR operate the 787 to EDI, which also has a 1-2-1 layout.
Hi Guest, join in the discussion on Etihad kicks off Abu Dhabi-Edinburgh flights