Last of the Gulf giants finally adds Nairobi

(eTN) – Information was confirmed overnight that Etihad, the last of the airline “Big Boys” from the Gulf region, is now finally also set to add Nairobi to their growing network, following in the footsteps of Emirates, Qatar Airways, and Gulf Air.

Etihad is due to commence daily flights from April 2012 onwards between Abu Dhabi and Nairobi, offering, of course, a complete range of network connections to travelers from Kenya when they connect in the capital of the UAE.

They join, in addition to their full service brethren mentioned before, the Gulf’s first low-cost carrier Air Arabia, which flies from Sharjah to Nairobi, and there is also speculation that Fly Dubai may add Kenya, too, in due course, as they take delivery of more aircraft and expand their reach from Dubai into a 5–7 hour circle of destinations they can comfortably reach with their NG 737 aircraft.

Etihad though, as a full service airline owned by the government of Abu Dhabi, is, of course, reaching out to the growing number of business and tourist travelers from the Gulf region itself and from across their growing network, pursuing the same principal strategy as successfully executed over many years by Emirates or Qatar. By the time of going to press, no details were available on the type of aircraft used by Etihad.