WAM Abu Dhabi, May 27th, 2012 (WAM) -- Etihad Airways has leased a Virgin Australia Boeing 777-300ER for use on its route between Abu Dhabi and Kuala Lumpur.

The once a week wet lease service again reflects the importance of the relationship between the two carriers.

Etihad Airways and Virgin Australia forged a ten-year strategic partnership 21 months ago.

Kevin Knight, Chief Strategy and Planning Officer at Etihad Airways, said: "This new agreement expands our successful partnership with Virgin Australia which already provides our guests access to Australia and elsewhere on our combined network of over 150 destinations.

"Working together with our partner Virgin Australia we continue to find new ways to serve our guests and create value for each of our airlines." The aircraft is configured with 33 flat bed seats in Business class and 328 seats in Economy class. The return flights will be operated as normal using Etihad Airways' existing daily EY411 and EY418 flight codes, respectively. Flight time is seven hours and 20 minutes.

Etihad Airways flies daily from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur using a Boeing 777-300ER aircraft.

WAM/AM