Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, has concluded a transaction with Jet Airways to purchase the Indian carrier’s three pairs of Heathrow slots for US $70 million. According to the official press statement released by Etihad Airways, the purchase is part of a sale and lease back agreement signed on February 26, 2013. Jet Airways will continue to operate flights to London utilising these slots. 

 

The Airways has also decided to increase capacity on its daily flights between Abu Dhabi and Melbourne, introducing a new Boeing 777-300ER aircraft effective from December 1, 2013. The company says, that the three-class, 328-seat Boeing 777 will replace the current Airbus A340 fleet, delivering 252 more seats per week – a 12.3 per cent increase – between the capital of the State of Victoria and the capital of the UAE. 

 

The service upgrade was announced in Abu Dhabi by James Hogan, President and Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways. In another event, the airlines also went through system upgrades of its sales, website and check in systems on February 23. However, the upgrade process did not affect the scheduled flights. 

 

Prior to upgrade, the airways informed its business partners, clients and passengers concerning the expected possible interruptions several times as the upgrade date was approached. Inconvenience during the upgrade period was kept to an absolute minimum, according to the airlines.