Etihad Airways has announced the expansion of scheduled services between Abu Dhabi and India as partner Jet Airways unveiled new routes and additional frequencies to further strengthen their partnership. From early 2017, the two airlines will expand their services between the UAE and India by adding 28 weekly flights and three further Indian cities, subject to government approval. These will enhance connections between India and the rest of the world though Etihad Airways’ Abu Dhabi hub, and complement Jet Airways’ non-stop services to other cities.
Etihad Airways currently operates 175 weekly flights between Abu Dhabi and 11 Indian cities. Together, Etihad Airways and Jet Airways offer 252 weekly flights between Abu Dhabi and 15 cities across India. With the newly-announced flights, the airlines’ services will cover 18 Indian cities with 280 flights each week.
Etihad Airways will launch a fourth daily flight between Abu Dhabi and Kozhikode on March 26, 2017, capitalising on the strong traffic flows between the state of Kerala and the UAE, and beyond. The additional capacity is expected to allow the partnership to better serve the southern India market.
Etihad Airways will also double its frequency between Abu Dhabi and Ahmedabad from February 1, 2017 with the launch of a new daily service.
Jet Airways also announced a number of changes to its operations between India and Abu Dhabi. These include the launch of daily flights between Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu and Abu Dhabi on February 1, 2017. Jet Airways will also introduce daily services from Kannur, the fourth Kerala gateway to Abu Dhabi. It also plans daily services from Chandigarh to Abu Dhabi. The two routes are due to begin in the second half of 2017, subject to the completion of operational readiness at these airports.
From January 15, 2017, Jet Airways will introduce a second daily service between New Delhi and Abu Dhabi. Etihad Airways already operates three flights a day between the two capital cities.
In 2015, Etihad Airways and Jet Airways together carried a record 3.3 million passengers between Abu Dhabi and India, a 63 per cent increase over the two million passengers flown in 2014.
Etihad Airways contributed 717,966 guests to Jet Airways’ flights for the 12 months to August 2016, a 57 per cent increase on the same period last year. Whereas, Jet Airways contributed 396,288 guests to Etihad Airways’ flights over the same period, a 33 per cent increase on the corresponding period last year.
James Hogan, president and CEO, Etihad Aviation Group, said, “Today’s announcement reflects how we have been working together to enhance our services to give the travelling public more and better choices by using each other’s networks. Our partnership with Jet Airways has gone from strength to strength. Sharing resources and reaching decisions together are key to our success. Jet Airways is Etihad Airways’ leading equity partner in terms of revenue and passenger contribution, and this expansion is indicative of the years of friendship, strong bilateral relationship, and economic, trade and cultural ties enjoyed between India and the UAE.”
