Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates – This festive season, Etihad Airways, the UAE’s national airline is bringing the holiday spirit to its guests with decorations, themed cuisine, and complimentary, limited-edition amenities. With 22 December anticipated to be the busiest travel day, and a large volume of travellers over the festive season, Etihad has prepared a festive atmosphere, warm hospitality and additional facilities to ensure a smooth travel experience.

Etihad has designed a range of limited-edition amenity kits in partnership with Giorgio Armani and leading skincare brand ESPA to celebrate the season. The First class folios, and Business class clutch bags and cube bags come in rich shades of forest green, crimson and pearlescent colours, and are complimentary for guests in Business class on longer flights, and for all in First and The Residence.

Economy passengers will receive a limited-edition tote bag featuring two playful designs: a charming snowman and a snowflake pattern inspired by the facets of Etihad's tailfin. These themed amenities will be available on all long-haul routes until 10 January.

From the 23-25 December, Etihad will serve a traditional festive menu in all cabins on 30 routes across the network. The airline expects to serve more than 50,000 Christmas dinners on board, featuring turkey roulade, chestnut & thyme stuffing, herb & garlic sweet potato, brussel sprouts, and pumpkin with chicken jus. This will be accompanied by chocolate Bûche de Noël, gingerbread white chocolate mousse or Christmas bread and butter pudding.

In premium cabins, guests can also choose to indulge in mocktails and cocktails inspired by the season, including a Rum, Rum Rudolph, Hot Toddy, and Winter Spritz. Or an iced or hot Gingerbread Latte.

At Etihad’s Lounges in Abu Dhabi and London, Christmas trees and gingerbread houses will bring a seasonal atmosphere, while a special Christmas dining offering will be available from 21 to 30 December. Traditional feasts will be accompanied by seasonal beverages including mulled wine, eggnog coffee, and a Gingerbread espresso martini.

Etihad’s E-BOX inflight entertainment is showing a dedicated ‘Holiday Season’ channel with festive movies to enjoy on board throughout December. Holiday favourites such as 8-Bit Christmas, Last Christmas, New Year’s Eve, Four Christmases and Dr Seuss' The Grinch, feature among a selection of hundreds of movies, TV programmes and music.

Turky Al Hammadi, Director of Product and Hospitality, Etihad Airways, said: “The holiday season is the time to visit friends, explore new places and create lasting memories. At Etihad, we’re thrilled to share the festive spirit with our guests through limited-edition amenity kits in holiday colours, traditional menus, seasonal treats, and the warmth of Etihad hospitality.

“We’ve also added special touches this year, including curated menus in our lounges and onboard, as well as surprise-and-delight moments to enhance the travel experience. These festivities reflect our gratitude to our guests for choosing to fly with us at this special time of year, and our appreciation for the staff who ensure smooth operations throughout the season.”

A peak travel season at Zayed International Airport

Etihad’s guests can expect to enjoy a welcoming atmosphere at Zayed International Airport with extensive check-in facilities, including family-friendly zones, biometric self-bag drop check-in desks, as well as dedicated services for those travelling in Business and First class.

For added convenience over the busy winter travel period, Etihad is rewarding guests with 1,000 Etihad Guest Miles when they make use of the offsite check-in and bag-drop facilities until 27 December:

• Abu Dhabi Cruise Terminal (open 24-hours)
• The Fountains Yas Mall (open 10am to 10pm)
• Mussafah (open 10am to 10pm)
  38 Al Arzaq Street, Mussafah Shabia 11, behind Al Madina Hypermarket
• Al Ain (open 10am to 10pm)
  Lulu Hypermarket Kuwaitat, Shakhboot Bin Sultan St, Central District

Holiday present shopping made easy

The Etihad Guest Reward Shop offers a curated collection of holiday season gifts to make finding the perfect present easy. Members can also redeem miles to purchase their shopping this holiday season. The shop caters for everyone with tech and electronics, fashion, jewellery, beauty and fragrance, home furnishings and travel essentials to choose from.