Etihad Airways A330-300 greeted by water cannon at Düsseldorf airport

Etihad Airways CCO Peter Baumgartner and Düsseldorf Airport CEO Christoph Blume cut ribbon

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has commenced non-stop flights from its home base in Abu Dhabi to Düsseldorf, Germany.

The inaugural Abu Dhabi-Düsseldorf flight, EY023, was greeted by a traditional water cannon salute when it touched down at the North Rhine Westphalia airport at 6:25am local time Friday.

The airline will initially operate four weekly return services to Düsseldorf with plans to go daily from April 2012.  The route is being served by an Airbus A330-300 aircraft, in a three-class configuration, offering eight Diamond First Class suites, 32 seats in Pearl Business class and 191 seats in Coral Economy class.

Forward bookings for the route are strong – both outbound and inbound from Düsseldorf to Abu Dhabi through to key destinations in Australasia and the Indian subcontinent.

The Chief Commercial Officer of Etihad Airways, Peter Baumgartner, said at the launch in Düsseldorf:  “Germany is a strategically important market for Etihad Airways.

“We have carried more than 1.7 million passengers to and from Germany since we started flights to Munich back in 2004, and now we operate 25 weekly services to Düsseldorf, Frankfurt and Munich.

“Düsseldorf was a logical step in growing our European passenger operations.  By growing direct point-to-point traffic between the two cities, we also look forward to strengthening business and leisure ties between the capital of the UAE and Germany.”

A key benefit to travellers of the new non-stop Abu Dhabi-Düsseldorf service is convenient flight arrival and departure times and network connectivity at the airline’s Abu Dhabi hub.

The schedule provides seamless onward connections to Etihad Airways’ extensive network across more than 40 markets.  This includes destinations in the Middle East, Asia, Australia, the Indian subcontinent, and two of the airline’s newest routes – the Maldives and Seychelles.

Congratulating Etihad Airways and Düsseldorf Airport on the launch of services from the UAE capital to Düsseldorf, His Excellency Mohammed Ahmed Al Mahmood, UAE Ambassador to Germany said: “Etihad Airways’ new route to Düsseldorf will enhance industrial relations and promote economic cooperation, trade and tourism between the UAE and Germany.  This development is part of the Abu Dhabi government's keenness to develop good relations with Germany in various fields, vital for the implementation of the Abu Dhabi 2030 strategy.

“The excellent relations and friendship between the UAE and Germany are growing rapidly in various fields. Etihad Airways’ new direct route to Düsseldorf came in time to keep pace with the significant growth in the relations between our two friendly countries.”

Christoph Blume, CEO of Düsseldorf International Airport stated: "We’re delighted to welcome Etihad Airways to Düsseldorf International Airport. Etihad is one of the most respected airlines in the world offering a high-class service in combination with a broad range of destinations on five continents. This is why Etihad and its base in Abu Dhabi perfectly fit with the route network expansion of Germany’s next-generation hub at Düsseldorf.  Due to the economic power and the central location of both destinations in two major regions of the world, we are certain of the potential and the long-term nature of the new connection between Abu Dhabi and Düsseldorf.”

Abu Dhabi-Düsseldorf schedule (December 16, 2011 to April 14, 2012). Times are local.