Australians will have a new one-stop option to Italy from October when Etihad Airways launches flights to Venice from its Abu Dhabi hub.
The daily service with two-class Airbus A319s featuring 16 business and 90 economy class seats takes off on October 30 2016, Etihad said in a statement.
Venice will be Etihad’s third Italian destination alongside Milan and Rome. The launch of its Venice service would coincide with the withdrawal of Etihad alliance and equity partner Alitalia from the route.
The flights will operate as an overnight service from Abu Dhabi, arriving at Venice’s Marco Polo Airport a little after 0630. The reciprocal is scheduled to take off from Venice just before 1100 and arrive back in Abu Dhabi at 1955.
“Launching our service to Venice further supports a very popular passenger route between Italy, our Abu Dhabi hub and onwards throughout Etihad Airways’ growing network, as far afield as Australia,” Etihad chief strategy and planning officer Kevin Knight said.
Etihad, which is a Virgin Australia major shareholder and alliance partner, flies to Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney from its Abu Dhabi hub.
Other one-stop options for Australians headed to Venice include Emirates (via Dubai) and Qatar (via Doha).
