Etihad Airways increases capacity for Christmas

ETIHAD Airways will fly a larger aircraft from Manchester to Abu Dhabi during the Christmas period to cater for predicted higher levels of demand.

The airline will upgrade one of its twice daily flights, switching from a 262-seat Airbus A330-200 to a 412-seat Boeing 777-300ER, an increase of 57%.

The bigger plane will operate between the two cities throughout December.

A Manchester Airport spokesperson said: “Since launching, the route has proved to be incredibly popular with passengers and we are sure the larger aircraft will perform very well.

“We are attributing the extra demand to the success of our Fly Manchester campaign, which has seen dedicated activity across our catchment area, to win back the 4 million plus people who choose to travel to congested London airports, when the routes operate here in Manchester. The extra capacity is also a sign of increased confidence in the North of England. As well as operating a double-daily service, Etihad has its European Contact Centre on site at Manchester Airport, as well as a luxury premium lounge for passengers.”