Etihad to upgrade Lagos service

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, will upgrade its Lagos service to a daily one to meet the growing demand from passengers travelling to and from Nigeria.

The airline initially launched its service between Lagos, West Africa’s most populous city, and Abu Dhabi on July 1, 2012 with six flights a week, enhancing the links between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates.

The new daily service will be introduced on March 31, coinciding with the start of the airline’s new summer schedule, and will significantly improve connections between Nigeria and the United Arab Emirates, and beyond to key destinations across the airline’s network in Saudi Arabia, the Middle East, India, Malaysia and China.

Maurice Phohleli, Etihad Airways’ General Manager, Nigeria and West Africa, said: “We have received a very positive response from the Nigerian market since launching our service six months ago. Clearly, the people of Nigeria appreciate the superior product and service of the world’s leading airline and we are proud to serve them.

“Our passenger loads are strong, and we are confident that this route will continue to support the growing flow of business and leisure travellers who fly from Nigeria to the United Arab Emirates and onwards over the airline’s hub in Abu Dhabi to key commercial and tourism destinations in the GCC, North and Southeast Asia and markets in the Indian sub-continent.”

The service, comprising a mix of morning and evening departures, is operated by an Airbus A330-200 aircraft configured to carry 22 Pearl Business class and 240 Coral Economy class passengers.

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$1bn investment: Etihad transforms passenger services with new check-in, sales system

As part of its $1 billion investment in passenger experience, Etihad Airways, the national carrier of United Arabs Emirates (UAE) said it will make its ‘Big Switch’ to new, state-of-the-art, passenger sales, website, and check-in systems next week.

This, according to the airline, is the most significant milestone in its $ 1 billion, ten-year, deal with Sabre Airline Solutions. The Passenger Service System (PSS) transformation project is the most challenging Information Technology (IT) and business-critical initiative that the Abu Dhabi-based airline has implemented in its history. It involved intensive training for 6,700 Etihad Airways and third party staff.

The Big Switch, according to the airline, will integrate Etihad Airways’ current PSS into one platform that will utilise cutting-edge software across its reservations, inventory, ecommerce, distribution and departure control activities.

The new Sabre Airline Solutions-PSS, which starts on 23 February, will offer significant enhancements to the customer experience especially in areas such as mobile and guest communications. Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways’ Chief Commercial Officer, said the software is due for completion on 24 February.

“Therefore during 22 and 25 February Etihad Airways asks passengers to follow key guidelines to help ensure any disruption to their travel experience is kept to a minimum.

The key messages for customers travelling during that period are that they should arrive at the airport four hours before the flight is due to depart; where possible check-in online from 24 hours before departure and print boarding pass beforehand and bring to the airport and if unable to check-in online, they are to bring a copy of email confirmation and / or travel itinerary”, he said.

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