| Kippreport.com

From Abu Dhabi to where?

September 7, 2008 1:54 by kippreport

Doha, Bangkok, Cairo, London, and Manama. What do these cities have in common? They’re the top five cities that people fly to from Abu Dhabi in July, accounting for 17.8 percent of the total traffic.

Doha’s place on top of the list would probably be due to business travel, but why does Bangkok come second? All that shuttle diplomacy with former Thai PM Thaksin Shinawatra before Abu Dhabi investors bought Manchester City from him? Or is it just Bangkok’s Buddhist temples that appeal?

The call of the pharaohs, the pyramids and the Nile could justify Cairo’s place on the list. In fact, there’s a lot of back-and-forth traffic there: According to Expedia.com, the top destination of Egypt Air is Abu Dhabi. The UAE capital even beats local destinations like Luxor and Sharm El Sheikh.

London: At least 100,000 UK citizens stay in the UAE, so many of them would have left the sun and sand for a rainy holiday back home.

Manama: Business travel and expats returning home?

Abu Dhabi’s carrier Etihad Airways recently reduced many of its air fares by 20-50 per cent for travel during Ramadan and the autumn period. And not surprisingly, many of the routes involved the top five.

While London rates have been reduced by 52 per cent to Dh1, 900, rates on flights from Abu Dhabi to Bangkok start from Dh1, 293, a discount of 37 per cent off the usual price, and Cairo prices start at Dh1, 163, a discount of 23 percent.

Tags: Abu Dhabi, airport, Bangkok, Cairo, cities, Doha, etihad, fly, London, manama, places