Etihad Airways has announced another new destination. The airline will launch flights to Sochi (AER) on the Russian Riveria this summer. Sochi will be the 14th new destination Etihad Airways will add to its route network in 2025.
Etihad Airways has already revealed 13 new destinations, including Al Alamein, Algiers, Atlanta, Chiang Mai, Hanoi, Hong Kong, Krabi, Medan, Phnom Penh, Prague, Taipei, Tunis and Warsaw. Read the full details about those new routes here.
The schedule
The route to Sochi is scheduled to operate three times a week on Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday starting 29 May 2025. Etihad Airways plans to fly an A320 aircraft with eight seats in Business and 150 in Economy.
The flight timings are very civilised and perfect for long weekend trips in either direction.
EY858
Dep Abu Dhabi (AUH) at 0900
Arr Sochi (AER) at 1220
EY 859
Dep Sochi (AER) at 1410
Arr Abu Dhabi (AUH) at 1900
The flight to Sochi is scheduled to take 4h20m on the outbound and 3h50m on the return to Abu Dhabi.
Sochi is also currently connected to the UAE by flydubai with a daily flight from Dubai International (DXB).
Using GuestMiles to get to Sochi
Cash tickets between Abu Dhabi and Sochi are already on sale. However, I can not see any GuestSeat rewards available for booking. That has been the norm with new Etihad Airways destinations. It takes a bit of time for GuestSeat availability to appear after a new route goes on sale.
Will there be more new destinations this year?
I am sure this is not the last new route announcement we will hear from Etihad this year.
There are several routes I would love to see Etihad revive, including San Francisco (SFO), Edinburgh (EDI), Cape Town (CPT) and Tehran (IKA). The new destinations on my wish list are Porto (OPO), Perth (PER) and Stockholm (ARN).
What new destinations would you like Etihad Airways to begin serving?