Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, will launch daily non-stop flights to Zurich (Switzerland) from June 1, 2014.

Through Zurich, the daily flight will connect with the route network of Etihad Airways' latest equity partner, Darwin Airline, which will be rebranded Etihad Regional.  

Darwin Airline will provide connections between Zurich and eight new destinations – Leipzig (Germany), Florence, Turin and Verona (Italy), Graz and Linz (Austria), and Lyon (France) as well as a new domestic service to Geneva (Switzerland).  The airline already operates domestic services between Geneva and Lugano.

Subject to regulatory approvals, Zurich will become Etihad Airways’ second Swiss destination after Geneva, and the route will be served by an Airbus A330-300 aircraft in a three-class configuration, said a statement.

James Hogan, Etihad’s president and CEO, said:  “Following nine years of successful operations to Geneva, our new route to one of the world’s most important financial and banking centres comes at a time when trade and leisure ties between the UAE, Switzerland and beyond are rapidly expanding.”

“The route will offer business and leisure customers an additional entry point to mainland Europe, and through our recent equity deal with Darwin Airline, enhanced access to key European regional destinations,” said Hogan.

“In addition, airberlin will place its AB flight code on the new Abu Dhabi-Zurich service, where it will link in seamlessly with a number of their operations beyond Zurich to Germany and Spain,” he said.

Demand for the new Etihad Airways Zurich service is forecast to be strong among the Swiss community in the UAE, which numbers more than 2,400 Swiss nationals and 300 Swiss companies.

“The new flight schedule will appeal to business and leisure travellers in both directions, as it optimally connects our existing services over Abu Dhabi with destinations in the GCC, Indian subcontinent, Asia and Australia, and with our partners’ services at Zurich to cities across Europe,” he added. - TradeArabia News Service