Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, will launch services to Nagoya and Tokyo in the first quarter of 2010 – the airline’s first destinations in Japan.

Etihad will operate a four flights a week service to Nagoya, via Beijing, from February 1, increasing to five flights a week from March 27.

The airline will begin a five flights a week direct service to Tokyo’s Narita airport on March 27. Etihad will operate a three cabin Airbus A330 to Tokyo and a two cabin A330 to Nagoya.

The addition of Tokyo and Nagoya on Etihad’s flying programme will bring to eight the number of destinations served by Etihad in the Far East, which currently includes Beijing, Jakarta, Manila, Singapore, Bangkok and Kuala Lumpur.

James Hogan, Etihad Airways chief executive officer, said: “Rarely does an airline have the opportunity to launch flights to two cities in one country at the same time, so these services to Tokyo and Nagoya are very special for Etihad.”

“We offer our thanks to the UAE General Civil Aviation Authority and the Japanese Civil Aviation Bureau for their support and assistance during the negotiation which has enabled these important air links to become a reality,” he added.

Total trade between the two countries currently stands at more than $40 billion. Japan is the second largest foreign investor in the UAE with foreign direct investments of more than $4 billion.

Among the areas of investment are the automotive and hospitality industries. Current statistics indicate that 330 Japanese companies operate in the UAE. More than 3,500 Japanese nationals reside in the country and 8,800 in the Middle East region, according to a report.

Convenient connection times will ensure that flights between Japan and Etihad’s European and Middle East flight network, via Abu Dhabi, are popular with business and leisure travellers, said a statement. – TradeArabia News Service