Abu Dhabi’s Etihad to introduce Boeing 787-9 on Cairo route

Abu Dhabi’s Etihad Airways will introduce the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner on its mid-morning service to the Egyptian capital Cairo from October.

Flights will begin on the EY653/654 service form October 28.

The aircraft will come in a two-class configuration with 28 business class seats and 271 economy class seats.

“In 2017 Etihad carried almost half a million guests on our multiple daily flights to and from Cairo,” said Etihad executive vice president of commercial Mohammad Al Bulooki.

“The introduction of the state-of-the-art 787 Dreamliner on the popular morning service from Abu Dhabi will provide guests with the latest innovation and technology, award-winning cabins, genuine hospitality and greater choice.”

Etihad expanded a codeshare partnership with Egypt Air in April to include several African destinations.

In turn Egypt Air’s code will be replaced on Etihad flights to China, Seoul, Brisbane, Melbourne and Sydney, subject to government approvals.

Read: Abu Dhabi’s Etihad expands codeshare with EgyptAir, upgrades Casablanca to 787

The Abu Dhabi airline plans to cut a number of routes in October, including services to Edinburgh and New York, as part of a wider review after posting a $1.87bn loss in 2016.

Read: Abu Dhabi’s Etihad to suspend New York service

Sources told Gulf Business in January that the airline was preparing to cut up to 10 per cent of pilots to reduce costs.

Etihad denied the figure but said it had asked pilots to take voluntary unpaid leave.

Read: Abu Dhabi’s Etihad denies plans to cut 10% of pilots