Charlotte's airport to add direct flight to Abu Dhabi in 2026

What to expect: The airline will offer four weekly flights on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays on a 303-seat Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. This will be CLT's first scheduled Boeing 787-9 aircraft.

• The plane will have business and economy seating.
• Prices start around $1,500.

Between the lines: This will be Charlotte's fourth international carrier and Etihad's sixth U.S. destination. Sun Country Airlines was the last airline to join CLT's roster in 2022. Volaris was the last international airline to add service out of CLT in 2018.

• American Airlines remains the dominant carrier at CLT, but adding Etihad gives travelers more options.

By the numbers: CLT saw record passenger traffic in 2024 with 58.8 million people flying into or out of the airport.

Current carriers at CLT are:

• Air Canada
• American
• Contour
• Delta
• Frontier
• Lufthansa
• Southwest
• Spirit
• Sun Country
• United
• Vacation Express
• Viva Aerobus
• Volaris

What's next: American will launch a seasonal flight from CLT to Athens, Greece, on June 5.