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Etihad has announced a new seasonal route between Abu Dhabi and Gothenburg which will launch this winter and will be Gothenburg’s first direct service to the Middle East. The kicker, however, is that this isn’t going to be a route on which Etihad operates a widebody aircraft.
The route
This is what the schedule looks like from 17 December 2026:
EY175 AUH 02:50 – 07:25 GOT (Tue, Thu, Sat & Sun)
EY176 GOT 09:10 – 18:55 AUH (Tue, Thu, Sat & Sun)
The route is currently set to run to the end of the winter season only (21 March 2027) and as things stand, it is set to be operated by an Etihad A321LR (Long Range) aircraft.
Airbus A321LR
The Airbus A321LR is the newest aircraft in Etihad’s fleet and it’s configured like this:
- First Suites – 2
- Business Class – 14
- Economy Class – 144
The bad news is that this is a narrowbody aircraft. The good news is that the premium seats are true lie-flat seats based on the Stelia Opera SA platform.
This is how Etihad describes the onboard products:
“First Suites: Private suites with sliding doors [set out in a 1-1 layout], lie‑flat beds, 20‑inch 4K screens, Bluetooth, wireless charging, companion seating, and luxury services including concierge and chauffeur for an elevated First experience.”
“Business Class: Herringbone seats [set out in a 1-1 layout], ensuring direct aisle access, with fully flat 78‑inch beds, 17.3‑inch 4K screens, Bluetooth, wireless charging, aisle access, and personal storage, offering widebody business comfort.”
“Economy Class: 144 spacious 18.4‑inch wide seats [set out in a 3-3 layout] with 5‑inch recline, 13.3‑inch 4K touchscreens, USB, Bluetooth, and over 1,000 hours of entertainment, designed for comfort and space in a narrowbody cabin.”
Thoughts
The reviews that we’ve seen of the premium seat on the Etihad A321LR are positive, and the soft product in the First Suites (really Business Plus rather than a true First Class) is reported to be excellent, but Etihad is playing fast and loose with the word “spacious” when describing its Economy Class seats.
Yes, 18.4″ of width is genuinely impressive for a narrowbody Economy Class seat, but what the airline fails to mention on its introduction to the A321LR page is that the seats in rows 21-38 (18 of the 24 rows in Economy Class) offer just 30″ of pitch/legroom (the other 5 rows offer a considerably more acceptable 33″-35″ of legroom).
That’s incredibly tight and it’s the sort of legroom you’d expect from a low-cost airline, not an airline that puts itself in the luxury sector.
Allowing for the 3 hour time difference between Abu Dhabi and Gothenburg (in winter), Etihad’s schedule puts the flying time at almost 7 hours in one direction and over 7.5 hours in the other, and that’s a very, very long time to be stuck in a seat with just 30″ of legroom.
There is absolutely no way that I’d fly this route in rows 21-38.
All of that being said, this route interests me because, over the past few years, Etihad has been one of the more prolific airlines when it comes to reasonable (albeit not cheap) premium cabin pricing, and quite a few of the deals that I’ve seen the airline offer, have originated in northern Europe/Scandinavia.
Could this be a route that gives us a few nicely discounted fares for travel from Europe to Asia? Possibly. And that’s why I think this may be a route to watch (even if it’s only set to operate for three months).
Bottom line
Between 17 December 2026 and 21 March 2027, Etihad will operate four flights a week between Abu Dhabi and Gothenburg using its Airbus A321LR aircraft offering First Class (Business Plus), Business Class and Economy Class.
I would avoid flying in 70%+ of the Economy Class seats, but the premium cabin seats look good and this could be a route to watch for anyone looking for reasonably priced premium cabin fares between Europe and Asia.
Featured image courtesy of Etihad.
