An Etihad Airways Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner touched down in Chengdu yesterday, completing its inaugural flight from Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Flight EY818 departed Abu Dhabi at 08:15 local time in the morning and arrived in Chengdu at 19:40 last evening.

The deployment of the 787-9 to Chengdu is part of the airline's ongoing plan to operate all 28 weekly services to China's four main gateways -- Beijing, Chengdu, Shanghai and Hong Kong -- with the next-generation Dreamliner aircraft. The airline has already upgraded its daily service from Abu Dhabi to Beijing to the 787-10 Dreamliner, and its daily service from Abu Dhabi to Hong Kong to the 787-9. It has also been announced that effective 1 July 2019, the daily service from Abu Dhabi to Shanghai will be upgraded from the 787-9 to the larger 787-10.

The 787-9 now servicing Chengdu features Etihad Airways' next-generation Business and Economy Class seats. It will operate with 299 seats -- 28 in Business Class and 271 in Economy Class, representing a 27 per cent increase in Business Class capacity to Chengdu, or a 14 per cent capacity increase across all cabins. The upgrading of aircraft will also see an increase in belly-hold cargo capacity to carry an additional four tonnes.

Robin Kamark, Etihad Aviation Group Chief Commercial Officer, said: "We are delighted to include Chengdu in our growing list of Dreamliner destinations. The move marks a milestone for Etihad as all our Chinese gateways will now be served by these technologically-advanced aircraft, ensuring our guests experience the latest in-flight product innovations.

"China is an incredibly important market for Etihad and we have significantly grown our presence here since launching services to Beijing in 2008. Abu Dhabi's non-oil trade figures show that China is among the top-five countries that have key trade relations with the Emirate. We look forward to building on these strong foundations, and for our guests to experience our 787 Dreamliner products on their flights to and from China," Mr. Kamark added.

Etihad Airways first launched its Chengdu service on December 2011, offering the first and only direct airline connection at that time between the UAE and China's Sichuan province. With consistent growth of passenger and cargo volumes, Etihad increased the frequency of its Abu Dhabi-Chengdu service from five-flights-a-week to daily in March 2014.

Abu Dhabi-Chengdu schedule:

Effective 2 July 2019 (Local timings):

Contributed by Etihad