Etihad News

[CheshireTom 1,377]

Just a couple of snippets from Etihad for those guys considering their cheap fares later in the year.

 

They have received the first of their new aircraft which will go onto the Gatwick and Bangkok routes and allow them to start MAN sometime in Mar/Apr (no firm timings yet).

 

They have signed up with Connexion to install wirelesss internet and live TV (BBC News24, Eurosport etc) on their aircraft in the near future. Obviously, this will be ongoing but the fleets tend to be completed quite quickly.

 

They will be introducing a loyalty scheme for regular travellers. Apparently, it will be more than just a FF programme according to the press releases.

 

All in all, good news for the guys looking to save a few quid on their airfares.

 

Tom

Edited January 18, 2006 by CheshireTom

[PhillipUK 0]

Cheers Tom......that is good news for us fans of Etihad

 

[Brown1950 67]

Tom

 

Thanks for the info regarding Etihad. Usually i use either Emirates or Qatar ex Manchester to Bangkok . Will be interesting to see if Etihad undercut the competition ?

 

 

Chris

[CheshireTom 1,377]

Brown1950,

 

As soon as I get some idea of Etihad's timings/prices I will post them here. Qatar has already announced that its flights will increase to 5 x weekly from the current 4. When I visited their offices 6-8 weeks ago they were talking about increasing again to daily flights by the end of April but I have not seen any formal confirmation of that. If Etihad pitches their prices at similar levels to those at Gatwick I reckon we would be looking at something around the 410-420 quid mark. Regardless of how it turns out, I would still opt to transit through Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Doha before going anywhere near Heathrow and save a couple of extra quid on duty frees.

 

Tom

[Brown1950 67]

Tom

 

 

Many thanks for your reply. Are Qatar reducing prices already in anticipation of the new competition because i have seen £387.00 on lastminute.com for Bangkok ex Manchester out 28th April / return 19th May ! Also have noticed prices for Emirates are now usually in excess of £500.00 I know we are entering the low season in Thailand but appears to me Emirates prices are well in excess of previous years.

 

 

Chris

[CheshireTom 1,377]

Brown1950,

 

Qatar currently have some availability at circa 420 quid from most of the main agents up to the Easter increase (first week of April). That's around 60 quid less than the non-promotional discount fare i.e. the discounted fare that is generally available. Emirates seems to be running around 520 quid as their base fare but depending on their booking levels, fares of between 460-480 quid seem to be available closer to the flight date i.e. less than 8 weeks prior to travel. In addition, their evening flights seem to have better availability at the cheaper fares than their afternoon flights. However, be aware of some lengthy layovers in Dubai (5-8 hous) on some of the cheaper fares. I hope that makes sense.

 

Tom