Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways has announced plans to double its frequency of flights to Melbourne from daily to double-daily from August 2015.
The new flights will be operated by 328-seat, three-class Boeing 777-300ERs and represent a 4,500 seats per week capacity increase on the route.
“Significantly, we will be the only airline offering double daily non-stop flights between Melbourne and the UAE, and twice daily one-stop services to a vast network of business and leisure destinations worldwide,” Etihad’s Melbourne-born CEO, James Hogan, said in a statement.
Etihad’s near-neighbour and great rival Emirates Airline operates to Melbourne from Dubai three times daily, but only one of those is a direct flight (operated by Airbus A380s), of the other two flights (both operated by 777-300ERs) one operates via Singapore, the second via Kuala Lumpur.
Etihad has been operating to Melbourne since March 2009, and the new flights will take to 42 the number of services it operates to Australia each week.
Schedule for Abu Dhabi – Melbourne flights, effective 1 August 2015:
| Flight No. | Origin | Departs | Destination | Arrives | Frequency | Aircraft | |
| EY462 | Abu Dhabi (AUH) | 10:30 | Melbourne (MEL) | 06:05+1 | Daily | 777-300ER | New |
| EY463 | Melbourne (MEL) | 15:15 | Abu Dhabi (AUH) | 23:20 | Daily | 777-300ER | New |
| EY460 | Abu Dhabi (AUH) | 22:20 | Melbourne (MEL) | 17:55+1 | Daily | 777-300ER | Current |
| EY461 | Melbourne (MEL) | 22:40 | Abu Dhabi (AUH) | 06:45+1 | Daily | 777-300ER | Current |
Source: Etihad
