Etihad to go daily to Toronto from Abu Dhabi

UAE carrier Etihad Airways has announced that it will increase the frequency of its flights to Toronto from Abu Dhabi.

Starting May 30, Etihad will introduce an additional weekly flight between Abu Dhabi and Toronto, in addition to the current six weekly flights that it already operates.

Etihad first began flying to Toronto from Abu Dhabi back in October 2005. The carrier has an interline agreement with WestJet and a codeshare with Air Canada which allow its passengers connectivity in Toronto to more than 15 destinations. According to an agreement reached between Etihad and Air Canada in 2020, Etihad Guest members can earn and spend miles on all flights across the entire Air Canada network, while Air Canada’s Aeroplan loyalty programme members can do the same when travelling with Etihad.

“Etihad is thrilled to begin flying daily between Abu Dhabi and Toronto, which has been one of our busiest routes in 2023 as a result of the rapid recovery and continued growth in travel demand between the UAE and Canada,” said Arik De, chief revenue officer at Etihad.

“Our daily service will provide business and leisure travellers, the Canadian diaspora and the large body of students from the UAE enrolled in Canada’s world-class universities with a convenient flight option every day of the week.”

The increase in the frequency of flights follows an expanded air services agreement reached between the UAE and Canada.

Apart from Etihad, another major UAE carrier – Emirates – said this month that it too would increase the frequency of its services to Canada with two additional flights per week between Dubai and Toronto. Starting April 20, Emirates will therefore operate a daily flight on the route. The decision to do so comes following an expanded air transport agreement between the UAE and Canada. Emirates operates its flagship A380 aircraft on the Dubai-Toronto route. With the two additional flights per week, Emirates will offer close to 2,000 more seats on the Dubai-Toronto route, representing a 40 per cent increase in capacity between Dubai and the Canadian city.

This article originally appeared on Business Traveller Middle East