Etihad Airways has added five seasonal destinations to the airline’s schedule for summer 2022.
The new destinations are Crete, Malaga, Nice, Santorini and Zanzibar. This will be the first time Etihad has ever flown to Crete and Nice.
Summer destinations in 2022
Etihad plans to serve the new destinations 2-3 times a week with a mix of A320 and B787 aircraft. The first flights are scheduled to launch in mid-June.
It is possible there may be some additional destinations added as summer approaches. There are a couple of previous summer destinations I would love to see make a return including a direct flight to Salalah in Oman.
| Destinations | Frequencies | Aircraft | Launch date |
| Crete | 2 flights per week | A320 | 15 June 2022 |
| Malaga | 2 flights per week | B787 | 15 June 2022 |
| Nice | 2 flights per week | B787 | 15 June 2022 |
| Santorini | 3 flights per week | A320 | 16 June 2022 |
| Zanzibar | 3 flights per week | A320 | 17 June 2022 |
How is Etihad operating these flights?
These flights are being promoted as direct. However, Etihad plans to operate the flights to Nice, Malaga and Santorini as circle routes.
In a circle routing an aircraft travels from origin to its first destination. It then continues to a second destination before returning directly to the place of origin.
For example, the flight to Nice will operate Abu Dhabi – Rome – Nice – Abu Dhabi. Between Rome and Nice, there will be passengers onboard both outbound from and inbound to Abu Dhabi. My assumption is that passengers travelling to Nice will need to deplane in Rome and pass through immigration before reboarding for the final leg.
Likewise, the flight to Malaga will operate Abu Dhabi – Madrid – Malaga – Abu Dhabi. Again, I would expect passengers travelling to Malaga will need to disembark in Madrid and pass through immigration while the aircraft is cleaned and prepared for the return flight to Abu Dhabi.
Santorini will be a circle flight with Athens. Zanzibar will be a standard return flight. The schedule for Crete has not yet been added to the Etihad schedule.
Booking with Etihad Guest Miles
GuestSeat redemptions for some of the flights are already available to book via Etihad Guest.
Nice
At the moment there are GuestSeats available on almost all the flights to and from Nice over the summer.
One way GuestSeat redemptions in Business Class start at 62,906 Miles +AED 490. The flights will be operated by 787s with Etihad’s Business Class studio seat onboard.
One way Economy Class GuestSeats are available from 35,082 Miles +AED 310.
Malaga
There does not appear to be any Business Class GuestSeats available to or from Malaga at any point over the summer.
However, one way Economy Class GuestSeats do appear to be available from 32,323 Miles +AED 420.
Santorini
There does not appear to be any GuestSeats available to or from Malaga at any point over the summer.
Zanzibar
There is good GuestSeat availability throughout the summer.
One way GuestSeat redemptions in Business Class start at 42,341 Miles +AED 490. However, this route will be operated by A320s with Etihad’s regional Business Class seat onboard.
One way Economy Class GuestSeats do appear to be available from 25,102 Miles +AED 310.
Crete
These flights have not been added to the Etihad schedule yet.
Need more Etihad Guest Miles?
If you need to top up your balance for redemption check out some of the best ways to earn Etihad Guest Miles without flying.
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