Manchester Airport has had an early Christmas present as Etihad Airways has announced it will fly a larger aircraft from Manchester to Abu Dhabi during the busy festive period to cater for high levels of demand from northern travellers.
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 – a capacity
increase of 57%.
The bigger plane will operate
between the two cities for the
whole of December.
Etihad Airways will also
introduce a range of special
holiday packages to the sun
soaked Abu Dhabi.
A Manchester Airport spokesperson said:
“We are delighted to welcome the increased winter capacity at Manchester Airport to Abu Dhabi and beyond. 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.”