Etihad Airways has announced some positive updates to its service to North America. While we’re not seeing any new routes introduced for now, we are seeing positive changes to two existing routes.
In this post:
Etihad’s Abu Dhabi to Boston route expanded to daily
As of October 27, 2024, Etihad will expand its service between Abu Dhabi (AUH) and Boston (BOS) to daily. For context, this route first launched as of March 31, 2024, with 4x weekly frequencies. So a 75% increase in service on the route is pretty significant.
This route is operated by a Boeing 787-9, featuring 290 seats, comprised of 28 business class seats and 262 economy class seats. For the winter season, the route will operate with the following schedule:
EY7 Abu Dhabi to Boston departing 10:10AM arriving 4:20PM
EY8 Boston to Abu Dhabi departing 11:20PM arriving 7:15PM (+1 day)
Etihad describes this expansion as reflecting the strong performance in the months since the flight has launched. Boston was the first new destination that Etihad added in North America in a very long time, so it’s great to see that it’s performing so well.
Keep in mind that not only does Etihad have a partnership with JetBlue (providing connectivity in Boston), but there’s also a lot of connectivity between the Boston area and the Indian subcontinent, and the flight is well timed to serve that.
Etihad’s Abu Dhabi to Toronto route upgraded to A350
As of October 27, 2024, Etihad will upgrade its route between Abu Dhabi (AUH) and Toronto (YYZ) to daily. Specifically, the route is currently operated by a Boeing 777-300ER, but will soon be operated by an Airbus A350-1000. For the winter season, the route will operate with the following schedule:
EY21 Abu Dhabi to Toronto departing 2:45AM arriving 9:25AM
EY22 Toronto to Abu Dhabi departing 3:30PM arriving 12:20PM (+1 day)
This is an absolutely massive upgrade to the passenger experience. Etihad’s Airbus A350-1000s are very comfortable planes, featuring 371 seats, including 44 business class seats and 327 economy class seats.
Meanwhile Etihad’s Boeing 777-300ERs are the carrier’s most outdated aircraft. They were actually supposed to be retired a few years back, but as Etihad has expanded its network, it has chosen to keep them around for the time being. The Toronto route was Etihad’s only route to North America to be operated by this jet, which is the least favorite among passengers in the carrier’s long haul fleet.
In terms of capacity, the swap from a 777-300ER to an A350-1000 actually represents a slight capacity downgrade, as Etihad’s 777-300ERs have 40 business class seats and 340 economy class seats. So we’re talking about a daily reduction of nine seats.
Bottom line
Etihad is upgrading its service to North America as of late October 2024. Etihad’s service to Boston will be increased from 4x weekly to daily, while Etihad’s service to Toronto will be upgraded from a Boeing 777-300ER to an Airbus A350-1000.
These are both great changes. Boston sure has grown a lot in recent years when it comes to Gulf service. Meanwhile Toronto will no longer be Etihad’s only North America route to feature an outdated aircraft.
What do you make of Etihad’s North America service changes?
The upgrade to the A350 will give some tough competition to the Daily Emirates A380 flying to Toronto. I'd choose an A350 over the A380 in economy and business.
I need a flight to Seattle in USA from Abu Dhabi to be connected to Jaiipur via Abu Dhabi on its return. Seattle is a very big hub for IT and when you have recently started flight for Jaipur it will be great if I can go directly to Jaipur via Abu Dhabi from Seattle.
When they introduced Boston to Abu Dhabi in April, they had really attractive schedules to pick up and drop passengers between Abu Dhabi and cities in India. Landing and taking off out of India in the evening hours is a dream that we all aspired for, that no other airline did but Etihad delivered on that. It was a huge differentiator. Suddenly they have shifted their schedules to the menacing middle of the night take...
When they introduced Boston to Abu Dhabi in April, they had really attractive schedules to pick up and drop passengers between Abu Dhabi and cities in India. Landing and taking off out of India in the evening hours is a dream that we all aspired for, that no other airline did but Etihad delivered on that. It was a huge differentiator. Suddenly they have shifted their schedules to the menacing middle of the night take off and landing in Indian cities. What a let down for the Indian diaspora. It is a huge inconvenience not only for travelers but their families too.
Hi Ben, two corrections for the YYZ bit
1. AUH-YYZ EY21 will depart at 0245 and arrive at 0925
2. A350 seat capacity is 44J 337Y (that's 381 seats, not 371 as written)
B777 capacity is 40J 330Y (total 370)
So YYZ is gaining 11 seats daily, not loosing 9 seats daily as published
Question: why has Etihad switched its Toronto schedule? They did this some years ago as well. Flights would depart Abu Dhabi and Toronto at 10 am and 10 pm respectively, then the schedule was advanced by 6.5 hours, then switched back, and now they will return to the early morning and afternoon departure schedule?
I must say I'm looking forward to my trip in November thanks to the equipment change. The 777 interior was just tired!
Ben - just wanted to correct the math on the A350 - its actually a total of 381 seats based on 337Y and 44J. So a slight capacity upgrade.
@ ML -- Sorry, that should have said 327, not 337. Appreciate the correction!
Hey, Ben. I think your AUH to YYZ schedule seems to be wrong as on the Etihad website the flight departs at 2;45 AM and arrives at 8;25 AM.
@ Brylle -- You're right, thank you! I accidentally had the summer schedule in there for one direction.
LAX, please.
LAX is a vanity project for a lot of airlines. Unless you have a ton of point to point, you're going to fight an uphill battle due to the competition. Delta, a North American airline, couldn't even make their own LHR route at their LAX hub.
Flying through the Middle East to connect is rarely preferable for travelers unless you're going to Africa/India.
"Flying through the Middle East to connect is rarely preferable for travelers unless you're going to Africa/India."
Uh-huh, because who'd want to connect passengers in a place that's 8 hours' flying time from nearly two-thirds of the global population.........
The problem for Middle Eastern carriers from the West Coast is that they lose competitive advantage over East Asian carriers because you can basically fly East (TATL) or West (TPAC) to India and it is relatively the same distance. Yes, you do get more availability to secondary/tertiary cities with the ME3, but to DEL, BOM (and even BLR), you have one stop options from the West Coast flying via East Asia (and non-stop options on...
The problem for Middle Eastern carriers from the West Coast is that they lose competitive advantage over East Asian carriers because you can basically fly East (TATL) or West (TPAC) to India and it is relatively the same distance. Yes, you do get more availability to secondary/tertiary cities with the ME3, but to DEL, BOM (and even BLR), you have one stop options from the West Coast flying via East Asia (and non-stop options on AI from SFO). The longer the flight, the more expensive it is to operate. That being said, would love to have EY back on the West Coast. EK and QR (amongst others) seem to make it work.