A second daily non-stop service between Abu Dhabi and Melbourne is being introduced by Etihad Airways.
The additional flight from August 1, 2015, will be operated by a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft with eight seats in first class, 40 in business and 280 in economy.
This will add more than 4,500 seats a week to the route, supporting strong two-way demand and links to and from the UK.
The second daily non-stop flight will offer travellers more flexibility with two timings from which to choose and more than double the number of weekly flight connections.
Melbourne will now be linked to more than 50 cities across Etihad Airways’ global network, including 20 double daily services to destinations in the Middle East and Europe such as Heathrow, Manchester, Dublin and Beirut.
There will also be new daily one-stop connections to destinations such as Edinburgh, which starts on June 8.
The airline’s president and chief executive James Hogan said: “We commenced flights to Melbourne in 2009 and it has since become one of the strongest routes on our network.
“Together with Virgin Australia and our other partner airlines, we have built a large and loyal customer base which has asked us for more choice.
“Today, I’m pleased to answer that call by announcing a doubling of our award-winning services to Melbourne.
“The new schedule will offer our guests a choice of two convenient departure times and seamless connectivity over Abu Dhabi to the Etihad Airways and Etihad Partners’ global networks.
“Significantly, we will be the only airline offering double daily non-stop flights between Melbourne and the UAE, and twice daily one-stop services to a vast network of business and leisure destinations worldwide.”