Etihad Airways has announced the commencement of Boeing 787-10 Dreamliner flights on its daily scheduled services to Shanghai.

Robin Kamark, Etihad Aviation Group’s chief commercial officer said: “Since the launch of our flights between Shanghai and Abu Dhabi in 2012, we have witnessed huge growth in China’s outbound tourism market and experienced strong demand from both business and leisure travellers. We have now deployed the larger 787-10 Dreamliner on this popular route, a decision which reflects the importance of Shanghai and China to Etihad Airways.”

“It will help support the surging growth in leisure travel from Shanghai.”

“The new aircraft will help to support the increasing demand for travel to and from Shanghai. In particular, it will help support the surging growth in leisure travel from Shanghai and its surrounding cities in Eastern China, to the Middle East and beyond, via Etihad’s hub in Abu Dhabi” he added.

Dr. Ali Obaid Al Dhaheri, UAE ambassador to China, said, “This fleet upgrade, alongside numerous other initiatives driven by Etihad Airways, is part of a series of positive developments in the aviation sector. This work will underpin shared UAE-China aims to achieve a common goal of pursuing sustainable growth, stability, and prosperity at an ever-increasing pace.”

The number of Chinese tourists arriving in the UAE now exceeds 1 million per year, while 3.5 million Chinese passengers transit through the country each year, assisted by direct services, the mutual visa-exemption policy between the UAE and China implemented last January, and the great efforts in promoting bidirectional destinations and business investment.