Etihad Airways change aircraft on two key US markets

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, continues to optimize its United States network with equipment changes on two key markets in 2016.

Currently Etihad operates leased Jet Airways Boeing 777-300ER aircraft for its daily flight to and from San Francisco. These aircraft will be replaced with Etihad Airways Boeing 777-200LRs from April 25.

The daily EY101 flight from Abu Dhabi to New York's JFK airport and the return EY100 service will also see leased Jet Airways Boeing 777-300ER aircraft replaced by Etihad Airways Boeing 777-300ERs from June 1.

The second daily Etihad Airways service to and from New York JFK, EY103 and EY102, will continue to be operated with the airline's flagship A380 aircraft in 2016.

The Etihad Airways Boeing 777-200LR to be deployed on the San Francisco route will be configured to carry 239 guests in three cabins, with eight First Class seats, 40 Business Class seats and 191 Economy Class seats.

The Boeing 777-300ER to be deployed by Etihad Airways on the New York route will be configured to carry 328 guests also in three cabins, with eight First Class seats, 40 Business Class seats, and 280 Economy Class seats.

All Etihad Airways guests flying to the United States pass through U.S. Preclearance at Abu Dhabi Airport meaning they clear U.S. immigration and customs before boarding their flight and arriving in America as domestic passengers.

Etihad Airways currently operates daily to New York JFK, a daily service to Chicago, daily to Washington D.C., daily to Los Angeles LAX, daily to San Francisco, and three flights a week to Dallas-Fort Worth.

Etihad Airways began operations in 2003, and in 2014 carried 14.8 million passengers. The airline has a fleet of 120 Airbus and Boeing aircraft, and approximately 200 aircraft on firm order, including 66 Boeing 787s, 25 Boeing 777Xs, 62 Airbus A350s and five Airbus A380s.

Emirates confirms billions in government subsidy

The United Arab Emirates spent a staggering $7.8 billion to build an 11-story air terminal at Dubai International Airport for the sole benefit of its airline, Emirates, according to documents the airline filed with the U.S. government that confirmed one of the most excessive and unapologetic violations of Open Skies policy to date.

In papers recently submitted to the Obama administration, Qatar Airways, Etihad Airways and Emirates acknowledged dozens of instances where they received subsidies from the treasuries of the UAE and Qatar, as well as actions they took to shield their finances from scrutiny. The Partnership for Open and Fair Skies, which represents the U.S. carriers and several airline employee unions, highlighted the subsidies and their harm to American workers in a major legal filing this week with the U.S. government.

Some of the subsidies acknowledged by the Gulf carriers include:

• Qatar Airways confirmed it received free land worth $452 million from the government of Qatar. Its submission to the U.S. government clearly states that "the State provided Qatar Airways with parcels of land to ensure that the carrier had enough real estate for office and residential space," and "in 2013, appropriated the land for the public interest at its then market value."
• Emirates confirmed that it allowed its parent company, the Investment Corporation of Dubai to assume its fuel hedging contracts, explaining that it "had the option to pursue a different approach," one that made it unnecessary to report its hedging losses. The result is that Emirates shifted costs off its books and artificially increased its profits - all without the typical risk a commercial enterprise would encounter in the marketplace.
• Etihad admitted that it sold its frequent flyer program to itself in 2013 in order to show a profit. According to its own 2014 financials recently uncovered in Hong Kong, Etihad sold its own cargo company to itself the following year to similarly show a profit - actions that a typical commercial enterprise would be unable to take.

"These endless cash infusions from foreign government treasuries have allowed the Gulf carriers to expand far beyond what market forces could ever support, fundamentally distorting the marketplace and harming U.S. carriers and American jobs," said Jill Zuckman, chief spokesperson for the Partnership for Open & Fair Skies. "It's urgent that the Obama administration take swift action and request consultations to end these trade violations before the Gulf carriers damage the U.S. aviation industry the same way they have devastated Europe's."

One of the most striking admissions comes from Emirates, which told U.S. regulators that the government directly subsidizes the cost of the airport terminals that it builds for Emirates' exclusive use. The government spent $7.8 billion to construct the Emirates terminal at the Dubai International Airport, which is the first facility of its kind: 11 floors designed for the largest fleet of A380s, with fine dining, a full service spa and other amenities all intended to give Emirates a competitive advantage over the U.S. and other international carriers in attracting passengers connecting around the world.

In its legal filing, the Partnership noted that unlike the subsidized expansion of the Emirates terminal, U.S. airports are required to be "self-financing," using revenue generated from landing fees, passenger fees, facilities rentals and other charges to fund the respective airport's operating and capital costs. Furthermore, the filing notes that Emirates' "success would suffer if they were required to cover the costs through charges and fees, which would be prohibitive."

On Monday, the Partnership supplied the U.S. government with never-before-seen financial statements from Etihad Airways. The Partnership also provided the government with new data showing that the Gulf carriers are not creating new demand when they enter U.S. markets, and instead are causing significant harm to the U.S. aviation industry.

Fast & Furious 7 goes airborne with Etihad Airways

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, and Universal Pictures unveiled the luxury Fast & Furious Boeing 777 airliner at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Wednesday. Actor/producer Vin Diesel was on hand as Etihad Airways Flight 171 arrived from Abu Dhabi to kick off the global junket and world premiere of Furious 7. The film arrives in theaters on April 3.

The Fast & Furious 777 plane will fly the direct route between Abu Dhabi and Los Angeles, which Etihad Airways opened in June 2014. The airline is also a sponsor of the Furious 7 world premiere, which takes place in Los Angeles on April 1.

The Fast & Furious decal will remain on the plane for the next four to six months.

Etihad Airways began operations in 2003, and in 2014 carried 14.8 million passengers. From its Abu Dhabi base, Etihad Airways flies to 111 existing or announced passenger and cargo destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas. The airline has a fleet of 111 Airbus and Boeing aircraft, and more than 200 aircraft on firm order, including 69 Boeing 787s, 25 Boeing 777-X, 62 Airbus A350s and nine Airbus A380s.