Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi (US /ˈɑːbuː ˈdɑːbi/, UK /ˈæbuː ˈdɑːbi/; Arabic: أبو ظبي‎ Abū Ẓabī Emirati pronunciation [ɐˈbuˈðˤɑbi]) is the capital and the second most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (the most populous being Dubai), and also capital of Abu Dhabi emirate, the largest of the UAE's seven member emirates. Abu Dhabi lies on a T-shaped island jutting into the Persian Gulf from the central western coast. The city proper had a population of 1.5 million in 2014.

Abu Dhabi houses federal government offices, is the seat of the United Arab Emirates Government, home to the Abu Dhabi Emiri Family and the President of the UAE, who is from this family. Abu Dhabi's rapid development and urbanisation, coupled with the relatively high average income of its population, has transformed the city into a large and advanced metropolis. Today the city is the country's center of political and industrial activities, and a major cultural and commercial centre, due to its position as the capital. Abu Dhabi accounts for about two-thirds of the roughly $400-billion United Arab Emirates economy.

Etihad Airways

Etihad Airways (Arabic شركة الاتحاد للطيران sharikat alittiḥād liṭṭayarān) is a flag carrier and the second-largest airline of the United Arab Emirates (after Emirates). Its head office is in Khalifa City, Abu Dhabi, near Abu Dhabi International Airport (OMAA - ICAO). Etihad commenced operations in November 2003.

The airline operates more than 1,000 flights per week to over 120 passenger and cargo destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas, with a fleet of 119 Airbus and Boeing aircraft as of August 2015. In 2012, Etihad carried 10.3 million passengers, a 23% increase from the previous year, delivering revenues of US$4.8 billion and net profits of US$42 million. Etihad Airways is the third largest airline in the Middle East and it is the second largest airline in the UAE, after the Dubai-based airline Emirates. Its main base is Abu Dhabi International Airport.

In addition to its core activity of passenger transportation, Etihad also operates Etihad Holidays and Etihad Cargo. Etihad established its own airline alliance, Etihad Airways Partners, in 2015, which includes Alitalia, Jet Airways, Air Berlin, Niki, Air Serbia, Air Seychelles and Etihad Regional. Almost every participant airline has a considerable stake of the airline owned by Etihad. Booking for these airlines is consolidated under one network. With the exception of Niki, Etihad Airways holds minority equity investments in the participating airlines along with Virgin Australia which is not officially listed as Etihad Airways Partners.

Etihad

Etihad may refer to:

First class

First class (or 1st class, Firstclass) generally implies a high level of service, importance or quality. Specific uses of the term include:

Arts and Entertainment

Comics

Film

Music

Television

Computing

Leisure

Sports

Travel

Business class

Business class is a travel class available on many commercial airlines and rail lines, known by brand names which vary by airline or rail company. In the airline industry, it was originally intended as an intermediate level of service between economy class and first class, but many airlines now offer business class as the highest level of service, having eliminated first class seating. Business class is distinguished from other travel classes by the quality of seating, food, drinks, ground service and other amenities. Full business class is usually denoted 'J' or 'C' with schedule flexibility, but can be many other letters depending on circumstances.

Airlines

History

Airlines began separating full-fare and discounted economy class passengers in the late 1970s. In 1976, KLM introduced a Full Fare Facilities (FFF) service for its full fare economy class passengers, which allowed them to sit at the front of the economy cabin immediately behind first class, and this concept was quickly copied by several other airlines including Air Canada. Both United Airlines and Trans World Airlines experimented with a similar three-class concept in 1978, but abandoned it due to negative reactions from discount economy class travelers who felt that amenities were being taken away from them. United also cited the difficulty of tracking which passengers should be seated in which section of the economy cabin on connecting flights.American Airlines also began separating full-fare economy passengers from discounted economy passengers in 1978, and offered open middle seats for full-fare passengers.