Etihad Airways has set a new benchmark for luxury travel on the UAE-Singapore route with the start of daily Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner services this weekend.

Flight EY470 departed Abu Dhabi at 10pm last night and touched down at Singapore's Changi Airport at 10.15am today. The return flight EY473 will depart Changi Airport for Abu Dhabi at 8.10pm this evening and arrive in the UAE capital at 11.45pm local time.

Etihad Airways' President and Chief Executive Officer, James Hogan, said deploying the Dreamliner to Singapore reflected the importance of the route to the airline and its commitment to a best-in-class experience.

"The Etihad Airways B787-9 Dreamliner is the most customised aircraft of its kind in the sky. The ground-breaking, next-generation First Suites, Business Studios and Economy Smart Seats offer a superior level of luxury and comfort and will transform the inflight experience. Never before has the airline had such a compelling proposition nor been as strong a competitor in the Singapore travel market."

Hogan also highlighted the airline's Singapore flight timings and better connectivity to the network via the Abu Dhabi hub. "With evening departures in both directions, we offer our guests in the UAE and Singapore more convenient travel times and improved connectivity to 35 destinations in the GCC, Middle East, Africa and Europe. This includes seamless connections to our flagship A380 services to London enabling guests to experience the luxurious First Apartment and The Residence, the world's first private three-room cabin on a commercial airliner."

Etihad Airways' Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner carries 235 guests – eight in First Class, 28 in Business Class and 199 in Economy Class – and offers levels of luxury, comfort, entertainment and inflight connectivity unrivalled in commercial aviation.

Etihad Airways' order for two variants of the B787 (-9 and -10), is one of the world's largest for the type, totalling 71 aircraft. The airline currently operates its B787-9s to Washington DC, Zurich and Brisbane, with new destinations being added as it takes delivery of more of the aircraft type. The airline will also begin taking delivery of B787s in a two-class configuration from 2016.

The wide-body Boeing 787-9 is a stretched version of the advanced medium to long-range twin engine B787-8, with a range of up to 8,300 nautical miles and a cruising speed of Mach 0.85. It is 206 feet in length and has a wingspan of 197 feet.

Etihad Airways commenced three weekly flights to Singapore on September 28, 2007 and went daily on February 1, 2013. It introduced its award-winning First Class to the route on 1 June 2015 with the deployment of a three-class Airbus A330-300 aircraft.
Source: WAM