After almost 18 years of flying to the Canadian city, Etihad will soon be touching down daily in Toronto.
Etihad Airways has announced that it will soon be increasing the frequency of its flights to Toronto. From May 30th, the carrier will fly daily between its hub at Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH) and Toronto Pearson International Airport (YYZ).
Etihad first served Toronto in October 2005, and today the airline operates six flights per week on the route. According to the airline, the increase in frequency comes on the back of the recently expanded air services agreement between the two countries, as well as an increase in demand. Arik De, chief revenue officer at Etihad, celebrated the announcement, saying,
“Etihad is thrilled to begin flying daily between Abu Dhabi and Toronto, which has been one of our busiest routes in 2023 as a result of the rapid recovery and continued growth in travel demand between the UAE and Canada. Our daily service will provide business and leisure travelers, the Canadian diaspora, and the large body of students from the UAE enrolled in Canada’s world-class universities with a convenient flight option every day of the week. We thank the government and civil aviation authorities for laying the groundwork for us to strengthen the air links between our two countries, which are essential for tourism, trade, and bilateral relations.”
The flight schedule
From May 30th, flights will operate as per the following schedule:
| Flight number | Route | Departure | Arrival | Block time | Frequency |
| EY141 | AUH-YYZ | 08:55 | 14:55 | 14 hours | Daily |
| EY140 | YYZ-AUH | 21:40 | 18:25 (+1 day) | 12 hrs 45 mins | Daily |
Etihad’s flights between Abu Dhabi and Toronto are operated by the Boeing 787-9. According to the latest data from ch-aviation.com, Etihad has 30 Boeing 787-9s in its fleet, each carrying a maximum of 235 or 299 passengers, depending on the configuration. The three-class Boeing 787-9s can hold up to eight in first class, 28 in business class, and 199 in economy class, while the higher density two-class variants can carry 28 in business class and 271 in economy class.
These are in addition to nine of the larger Boeing 787-10, which boast a total capacity of 336 passengers. The airline is still awaiting delivery of 11 further Boeing 787-9s and 21 Boeing 787-10s.
Interline and codeshare agreements across Canada
To enhance connection options at the Canadian end of the route, Etihad Airways benefits from both an interline agreement with WestJet and a codeshare agreement with Air Canada. The latter, for example, allows passengers to seamlessly connect to more than 15 destinations across Canada.
The carrier does not face any direct competition on the Abu Dhabi – Toronto route. However, from nearby Dubai International Airport (DXB), both Air Canada and Emirates fly direct to Toronto, deploying the Boeing 787 and the Airbus A380, respectively.
Toronto will remain Etihad’s only Canadian destination. However, the carrier continues to rebound from the pandemic, and, later this summer, will begin flying to Lisbon (LIS) and Copenhagen (CPH).
