Etihad Airways is celebrating its 20th anniversary in France, following the launch of direct flights from Abu Dhabi in June 2006. Initially operating six weekly frequencies, the Gulf carrier now schedules three daily flights. This summer, Etihad will operate two daily services with the Airbus A380, with the remaining rotation operated by a three-class Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.<\/p>\n
Complementing its existing operations in the French capital, Etihad also offers a seasonal connection to Nice. The anniversary of its Paris services coincides with the airline’s European expansion, which includes the launch of new routes, increased frequencies, and new codeshare partnerships boosting connectivity across the region.<\/p>\n
Etihad has ambitious expansion plans, including growing its fleet to around 250 aircraft and doubling the size of the airline, thereby increasing the offering available to travelers in France and other nations. Passengers can take advantage of the Abu Dhabi Stopover program, which offers eligible guests up to two free hotel nights.<\/p>\n
What milestone is Etihad Airways celebrating in France? <\/p>\n
Etihad is celebrating 20 years of operations in Paris since launching direct flights from Abu Dhabi in June 2006.<\/p>\n
How many daily flights does Etihad operate between Abu Dhabi and Paris? <\/p>\n
Etihad operates three daily flights between Abu Dhabi and Paris Charles de Gaulle\u2014two on the Airbus A380 and one on the Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner.<\/p>\n
What are Etihad’s growth targets under Journey 2030? <\/p>\n
The airline aims to double in size, expand its fleet to around 250 aircraft, multiply capacity in China fivefold within a year, and launch six new African destinations between November 2026 and March 2027.<\/p>\n
What passenger benefits does Etihad offer for transit via Abu Dhabi? <\/p>\n
Etihad offers the Abu Dhabi Stopover program, which grants eligible guests up to two free hotel nights.<\/p>\n
The Gulf carrier connects French travelers to popular destinations such as Bali, Phuket, the Maldives, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, and the Seychelles. Markets in Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean are experiencing notably high demand.<\/p>\n
Antonoaldo Neves, CEO of Etihad Airways, said: “Twenty years of flying to France is a milestone we are proud of, and at the heart of it all are the travelers who have chosen Etihad over these two decades. More and more people are discovering Abu Dhabi for themselves, along with the rest of the world that our network opens up to them, and it is a privilege to continue welcoming them onboard.”<\/p>\n
The 20th anniversary coincides with the biggest summer in Etihad’s history. The airline operates more than 300 daily flights from Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport (AUH), with load factors close to 90%. Between June 11 and 14, 2026, Etihad launched four new routes in four consecutive days \u2014 Krakow, Palma de Mallorca, Damascus, and Zanzibar \u2014 and resumed five seasonal destinations, including Nice, Mykonos, Santorini, M\u00e1laga, and El Alamein.<\/p>\n
Paris has become a strategic pillar within the company’s Journey 2030 plan. With three daily flights \u2014 two on A380 and one on the 787-9 Dreamliner \u2014 Etihad offers the largest premium capacity to the French capital from the Gulf. CEO Antonoaldo Neves, who spoke at the IATA General Assembly in Rio de Janeiro, stated that the airline plans to double the size of the company, grow its fleet to around 250 aircraft, multiply its capacity in China fivefold within a year, and launch six new destinations in Africa between November 2026 and March 2027.<\/p>\n
Etihad is investing approximately US$2 billion annually in new aircraft, with its current fleet standing at around 95\u2013100 aircraft. With the addition of its eighth Airbus A380 in June 2026 \u2014 earmarked for the Tokyo Narita route \u2014 the airline aims to consolidate Abu Dhabi as a world-class global transit hub, competing directly with Dubai, Doha, and major European hubs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Etihad Airways is celebrating its 20th anniversary in France, following the launch of direct flights from Abu Dhabi…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":45303,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13021],"tags":[30450,24118,4616,19000,30449,30448,5,30],"class_list":["post-45302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-airbus","tag-20-anos","tag-abu-dhabi","tag-airbus","tag-airbus-a380","tag-aniversario","tag-etihad-airways","tag-france","tag-paris"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45302","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45302"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45302\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/45303"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45302"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45302"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/france\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45302"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}