Executive travel: Etihad well on track in Edinburgh

Scotland's Edinburgh airport is Etihad's most northerly destination and is located just a 30-minute ride from the Scottish capital.

The Scottish capital is the airline’s most northerly destination, with the first daily flights there launched in 2015. Lionel Bonaventure / AFP
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For business travellers heading to Scotland, Edinburgh Airport is pleasantly manageable in size and a convenient half-hour drive from the city centre outside of rush hour.

Which made it very convenient for my return journey to Abu Dhabi with Etihad. The Scottish capital is the airline's most northerly destination, with the first daily flights there launched in 2015. In winter, the service operates five times a week.

At the airport, because I was identified as a CVIP – a commercially important business class passenger – I was given escort through the fast-track security check and to the business class lounge called No1, which is shared with other airlines but is soon to be enlarged and enhanced. The lounge is nevertheless smart, bright and uncrowded, though its one computer for passenger use was out of service when I was there.

The lounge is conveniently opposite the gate, and the 8.05am departure proceeded without incident.

The aircraft used on this service is a relatively small two-class Airbus A330-200, with 22 seats in business class in a 1-2-1 configuration, and 240 in economy.

Because the eight-hour flight was almost full, I could not get a seat by the window, but I was pleasantly distanced from the other centre passenger so it felt like they barely existed.

One of Etihad’s colourful new business-class amenity packs was on each chair. Produced in collaboration with Luxe City Guides, it consists of a tactile pouch branded around one of six cities, including Abu Dhabi, Madrid and London. My favourite items are the thick, comfortable eye mask and earplugs.

Declining the offer of breakfast, I slept for a few hours before ordering a tasty on-demand meal of smoked duck, beetroot and quinoa salad and miso-glazed cod and watched a film (Wi-Fi is chargeable).

The in-flight entertainment system was easy to use and responsive, and the headphones also worked well.

Unlike on the outbound flight where we had to get on a bus from the gate to the aircraft, this time we were parked at the gate.

Return flights from Abu Dhabi to Edinburgh cost from Dh2,970 in economy and Dh13,170 in business class.

q&a ready for a highland fling

Peter Baumgartner, chief executive at Etihad Airways, tells Rosemary Behan more about the airline’s direct service between Abu Dhabi and Edinburgh:

Who does this route cater to?

There is strong business and tourism traffic in both directions. The city of Edinburgh is the UK’s largest tourist market outside London, with more than a million arrivals from overseas each year. It provides connections through the Abu Dhabi hub to the world’s most attractive holiday destinations and trade centres for the Scottish economy in the Middle East, Indian subcontinent, Asia and Australasia.

Where are the Scottish travellers coming from?

It’s not all about Edinburgh – there is strong demand across the central belt and farther afield, not least from Aberdeen-based business travellers. Scottish Enterprise figures show that the Middle East is the second largest international market for Scottish oil and gas exports. Abu Dhabi is an exciting option for Scottish holidaymakers and for Scottish trade and tourism. We are able to bring in leisure and business visitors from many of these destinations.

What role does cargo play?

The aircraft offers a 168-tonne cargo capacity per week in both directions, with oil and gas equipment transported to destinations served by the airline’s cargo division in Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Australia and regions in Africa. The cargo service supports Edinburgh’s position as the fourth largest finance centre in Europe and a global hub for scientific research, food and drink, oil and gas and chemical industries.

rbehan@thenational.ae

* The writer was a guest of the airline.

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