Etihad Airways not resuming LAX service

Etihad Airways has dropped LAX from its online route map. 

The Abu Dhabi-based carrier’s apparent decision not to resume Los Angeles flights as the pandemic winds down, first reported Tuesday by One Mile at a Time, leaves Etihad with only three U.S. stations: New York JFK, Washington Dulles and Chicago O’Hare. 

Prior to the pandemic, Etihad operated to Los Angeles five times per week on a Boeing 777. But the route has been suspended since March 2020. Meanwhile, the carrier announced in April that it will retire its 777 fleet by the end of this year. 

Downsizing began well before the pandemic

Etihad began downsizing its U.S. service amid poor financial results well before the Covid-19 pandemic. The carrier halted Dallas and San Francisco service in late 2017.

In a Travel Weekly On the Record column interview last August, Etihad vice president for the Americas Vincent Frascogna said that at that time demand didn’t warrant putting LAX back on the schedule. By then, the airline had already resumed New York, Washington and Chicago service. 

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