Summary
- Etihad Airways launched new nonstop services between Boston and Abu Dhabi with a Boeing 787-9.
- Boston serves as a crucial gateway for Etihad due to partnerships and easy passenger connections.
- Etihad strategically chose a moderate-capacity 787-9 for the route and has seen high load factors so far.
On 31 March 2024, Middle Eastern legacy carrier Etihad Airways touched down at Boston Logan International Airport (BOS), marking the commencement of new nonstop services between the city and the carrier’s fortress hub at Abu Dhabi International Airport (AUH). This service now marks the fourth nonstop US connection for Etihad, which also offers services to Chicago-O’Hare Airport (ORD), New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK), and Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), alongside flights to Toronto-Pearson International Airport (YYZ) in Canada.
This new service will initially operate four times weekly on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays and is operated by the carrier’s modern and fuel-efficient Boeing 787-9 aircraft. The plane features Etihad’s industry-leading business studio seats alongside a comfortable and modern economy-class product.
Photo: Alexander Mitchell | Simple Flying
On 1 April 2024, the first flight from Boston back to Abu Dhabi took off from Logan Airport, and Simple Flying was on hand for an inaugural ceremony at the facility to celebrate this new route expansion. Additionally, Arik De, Etihad’s Chief Revenue Officer, took the time to offer his thoughts on the route launch and the airline’s greater US growth strategy in an exclusive interview.
An ideal gateway
According to the airline’s leadership team, Boston stands as a crucial gateway for Etihad and a unique linchpin for the carrier’s expanding service network. Logan Airport strategically allows Etihad to cater to different markets at the same time and provide both with an exceptional standard of quality that competitors could find challenging to match.
One of Etihad’s most important US partners is JetBlue, which maintains a far-reaching interline and codeshare agreement that allows for connectivity between the two carriers. As Etihad already flies to JetBlue’s major hub in New York, the carrier has chosen to double down on its commitment to their partnership by launching new nonstop flights from Abu Dhabi to Boston, the US carrier’s other major hub.

Related
Etihad Witnesses 49% Year-On-Year Passenger Growth As It Welcomes 3 New Boeing 787-9s
The Emirati flag carrier saw around 1.4 million guests; the average load factor was 89% across the month.
This decision has already paid off, as Etihad has already seen an impressive number of passengers choosing to capitalize on the new codeshare agreement. As Arik De was quick to indicate in his speech at the beginning of the inaugural ceremony, a significant portion of the passengers onboard yesterday’s inaugural flight were connecting to other US destinations using the extensive JetBlue network.
Photo: Alexander Mitchell | Simple Flying
An interline agreement with JetBlue allows Etihad passengers to fly to destinations across the United States on a single ticket without having to worry about rechecking baggage onto their new flights. Furthermore, due to the US Customs and Border Protection preclearance facility in Abu Dhabi, arrivals to Boston will experience a similar procedure as any other domestic passenger, allowing for even easier connections.
Blazing a unique trail
The market between Boston and the Middle East is heavily saturated with flights from high-capacity widebodies, something all three of Etihad’s major competitors fly on their routes from their hubs to the New England city. Emirates operates a high-capacity Boeing 777, while Turkish Airlines and Qatar Airways both operate A350 flights, all of which stand in sharp contrast to the moderate capacity of Etihad’s 787-9.
Photo: Alexander Mitchell | Simple Flying
The aircraft that Etihad will be flying on this route features 28 business studio seats alongside 262 in economy class, a configuration that offers a significantly lower premium capacity than many of the airline’s competitors. If you ask Arik De, however, this was by design. In the interview, he shared the following words regarding the decision:
“The 787 is a better suited aircraft to serve this market. You are far more likely to see increased 787 frequencies than a 777 in Boston from Etihad. It is a little known fact that we fly more often to some key destinations than our competitors. If you look at cities like Bombay, or Delhi, or Jeddah, quietly in the past few years we have built a frequency advantage over other airlines.”
De would continue to discuss how Etihad has seen extensive success post-pandemic in the US market and how the carrier has been able to leverage its fleet to target the ideal capacities for individual markets. According to the Chief Revenue Officer, the airline has already begun to see strong signs on its Boston-Abu Dhabi route, noting that load factors on even the earliest few flights are impressive.
Photo: Alexander Mitchell | Simple Flying
Specifically, De noted that the inbound inaugural flight from Abu Dhabi maintained a 97% load factor and a similar 85% load factor on the return journey, numbers auspicious for such a new route. De even went so far as to express his confidence that the route would be upgraded to a daily product within the near future, a statement he says he would almost never make this early into the network expansion process.

Related
Etihad Announces Operating Profit Of $394 Million For Full Year 2023
The airline carried 14 million passengers last year.
So what comes next?
Etihad is prepared for the future and will undoubtedly aim to continue expanding both its fleet and US portfolio over the coming months. The airline will be consistently taking delivery of new aircraft, including new Airbus A320neo family jets, some of which will even be equipped with lie-flat business class seats in a 1-1 configuration.
Photo: Alexander Mitchell | Simple Flying
With long-range moderate-capacity aircraft, Etihad will be able to continue serving more and more destinations while also offering more frequencies to the destinations it already serves. Regarding the airline’s fleet strategy in the medium term, De had the following words to share:
“We have a fleet of 787-9s, 787-10s, the A380s when we want additional capacity, and then you can add some lower capacity with the A320s and A321s. We are going to start getting a lot of A321LRs coming in, which will offer a very similar product to the 787.”
Not only does a 1-1 business class configuration on narrowbody aircraft offer an impressive competitive improvement over other similar long-range products, but it also allows the airline to maintain consistency across aircraft types. According to De, the ability to offer an identical, equally impressive product across the entire fleet is critical to providing continued excellence and an elevated passenger experience.