Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), will add a new daily flight between Abu Dhabi and Karachi to offer a double daily service from 18 November 2014.

The additional service will be operated by a two-class Airbus A320 aircraft configured to carry 136 passengers, with 16 seats in Business Class and 120 seats in Economy Class.

Adding 1,904 new seats per week to the Abu Dhabi-Karachi route, the new flights will enable Etihad Airways to provide its guests with more choice and greater flexibility when travelling to and from Abu Dhabi.

Etihad Airwayswill now be able to offer 46weekly returnflights to four destinations in Pakistan, which along with Karachi, include Lahore, Islamabad and Peshawar.

The schedule for the double daily flights will allow new markets such asRome, Zurich and San Francisco to gain two-way connectivity. The additional flights will also provide more than 700 weekly connections to key destinations in the GCC, Middle East, Europe and North America.

Kevin Knight, Etihad Airways’ Chief Strategy and Planning Officer, said: “The addition of the new flightswill strengthen Etihad Airways’ presence in the Pakistani market and foster the growth of commercial and cultural relations between Pakistan and the UAE.

“Since the commencement of services in November 2004, more than a million passengers have travelled with Etihad Airways to and from Karachi. The new double daily serviceunderscores our commitment of strengthening our network through increased frequencies on routes where we see strong passenger demand.

“We believe the new flights will enable Etihad Airways to provide guests with more convenient travel options and timings, support the growth of business and leisure traffic over Abu Dhabi, and offer better flight connections on the global network.”

From September to mid-November 2014, Etihad Airways will also offer additional seasonal services on the Abu Dhabi-Karachi route, ahead of the increase to a double daily schedule on 18 November.