Etihad Airways simply introduced its sixth U.S. vacation spot — and it is one among America’s busiest East Coast airports.
The Gulf service on Friday introduced it plans to launch service to Charlotte Douglas Worldwide Airport (CLT) within the spring of 2026
The nonstop flights between the Southeast hub and Abu Dhabi will get began on Could 6 — slightly below a 12 months from now, so if you happen to’re hoping to make use of miles to guide a business-class seat, the primary few flights are actually open for reserving.
Including Charlotte will give Etihad a half-dozen U.S. cities, together with Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Worldwide Airport (ATL), the place it is on track to start flying in July.
Etihad’s new Charlotte flights
Like its bigger Persian Gulf counterparts in Emirates and Qatar, Etihad can funnel vacationers to almost any nook of the globe by way of its Zayed Worldwide Airport (AUH) hub positioned within the UAE.
Charlotte vacationers will not see the ultra-swanky, TPG Award-winning Etihad Apartments first-class product discovered on the service’s Airbus A380 superjumbos, however the airline is usually recognized for a extra upscale expertise.
Learn extra: The best luxury suites in the sky and how to fly them
Etihad plans to function its CLT-AUH route with a two-cabin Boeing 787-9 that includes its lie-flat business-class product and economic system.
You possibly can see how the itinerary will shake out, beginning subsequent Could. It is an early afternoon, 2:40 p.m. departure from CLT, with the touchdown simply after midday the next day in Abu Dhabi, with a flight time of 13 hours and 45 minutes.
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It is a 3 a.m. departure, native time, en path to Charlotte on the westbound flight, with a same-day arrival at 10:15 a.m.
Etihad will function the flights between Charlotte and Abu Dhabi 4 occasions every week as soon as the service will get began.
How one can guide Etihad with factors
Vacationers hoping to guide a seat on Etihad have a couple of choices.
The airline’s Etihad Guest loyalty program is a switch accomplice of some main U.S. bank card applications, together with American Express Membership Rewards, Capital One and Citi.
Plus, Etihad has loyalty partnerships with that permit redemptions by way of JetBlue’s TrueBlue program and American Airways AAdvantage.
It is price noting, Charlotte is filled with AAdvantage loyalists, as a fortress hub for the service.
Etihad isn’t American’s solely Gulf accomplice; Doha-based Qatar is a full-fledged Oneworld Alliance member.
Nonetheless, Etihad’s presence in Charlotte ought to supply an attractive new long-haul choice for flyers.
Etihad will probably be solely the second airline primarily based outdoors the U.S. serving Charlotte — along with Lufthansa.
Vacationers flying on Etihad from Abu Dhabi again to Charlotte (or different U.S. locations) could make use of the U.S. preclearance facility, which permits vacationers to undergo passport management and clients earlier than the flight, eliminating the trouble afterward.
Massive Boeing order
Etihad’s new path to Charlotte got here to mild a day after the airline introduced a large order of latest long-haul planes from Boeing.
The service positioned an order for 28 new widebody jets, together with a mixture of extra 787 Dreamliners and Boeing’s newest technology (however nonetheless yet-to-be-certified) 777X.
The plane Etihad ordered will be part of its fleet in 2028 and past, the service mentioned Thursday.
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