Etihad Holidays, the tour operating arm of the UAE’s national airline Etihad Airways, has launched in India. Etihad Holidays has teamed up with Indian travel company TUI to distribute its products to over 900 registered travel agents across India. From family, beach and luxury holidays to sporting breaks, fly drives, city stays, stopovers and Hajj and Umrah packages, Etihad Holidays has travel options that include flights, accommodation and tour choices with stopovers in Etihad Airways’ Abu Dhabi hub.
Commission levels for agents range between five and 10 per cent on packages booked, dependent on class of travel. The packages are bookable through the VAX trade e-platform or through a local sales support team over the phone.
Destinations across North America, Europe, Africa, Middle East, Gulf and Asia are featured in the packages. Popular markets from India include Abu Dhabi, Dubai, the GCC, United States, Canada, European cities, as well as South Africa and the Indian Ocean.
Travelling through Abu Dhabi International Airport, guests with connections to Etihad Airways’ six gateway cities in America, have the benefit of pre-clearing US immigration and customs checks, ensuring they reach the US as domestic passengers and avoid airport formalities upon arrival.
With Indian partner Jet Airways, Etihad Airways operates 252 flights a week from 15 cities across India to Abu Dhabi with onward connections to destinations worldwide. Together, they fly one in five travellers to and from India.
Indian cities currently served are Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Kozhikode, Lucknow, Mangalore, Mumbai, Pune and Thiruvananthapuram. Next year, three further cities – Chandigarh, Kannur and Tiruchirappalli – will be added, taking the total frequency between India and Abu Dhabi to 280 flights a week.
Darren Peisley, CEO, Etihad Holidays’ parent Hala Group, said, “With the launch of Etihad Holidays in India, we are providing great content to travel agents to sell to the huge outbound travel market from India offering a wide choice of budget and luxury holiday options. Through real-time online booking and confirmation capability, Etihad Holidays is offering customers the flexibility to browse and book package holidays directly online. We are delighted to be working with TUI as our partner in India to operate Etihad Holidays in the India market because of their extensive knowledge of the tour operating business locally.”
Neerja Bhatia, vice president, Indian subcontinent, Etihad Airways, added, “The strong presence of Etihad Airways and Jet Airways in one of the most dynamic markets in the world makes it a natural and compelling proposition for Etihad Holidays to launch in India. We have many exciting plans in India during the months ahead offering our guests more choice, greater travel options and increased flexibility to help them plan their flights and holidays.”
India’s outbound travel market remains robust, with the number of trips forecast to increase between 6.5 per cent and nine per cent a year. Outbound trips from India are expected to rise to 17.2 million in 2019, compared with 13.1 million last year.
In a move to capitalise on the growing demand, Etihad Airways earlier this year introduced its 496-seat flagship Airbus A380 to the India market, operating a daily scheduled flight between Mumbai and Abu Dhabi.
