Etihad Airways and its partner Jet Airways have signed an agreement with the Government of Maharashtra to promote tourism to the state. The partnership will enable both airlines to capitalise on their links with Maharashtra and further propel domestic and international arrivals into the state capital Mumbai and beyond. It is the first time an Indian state has signed a tourism collaboration agreement with the airline sector.
The Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis presided over the signing of the MoU in Mumbai. The agreement was signed by Valsa Nair Singh, principal secretary (tourism and culture), Government of Maharashtra; Neerja Bhatia, vice president – Indian subcontinent, Etihad Airways; and Jayaraj Shanmugam, chief commercial officer, Jet Airways. It followed months of discussions between the leadership of both airlines and the state government on exploring ways to work together to promote tourism.
Under the agreement, the three entities will pool marketing resources to participate in travel-trade events in key international markets such as the UK and the UAE; jointly promote ‘Destination Maharashtra’ through advertising campaigns and organise inbound familiarisation trips for the fraternity.
Etihad Airways and Jet Airways contributre the biggest combined share of international traffic to and from India with one in five travellers choosing either carrier. Collectively, they operate five flights a day between Abu Dhabi and Mumbai with domestic connections across the country. In addition, Jet Airways flies daily between Pune and Abu Dhabi.
“This MoU is the beginning of a strategic partnership with two leading and most important international airlines to attract as many international tourists as possible. Together, we can create benefits for travellers and shareholders. Our aim is to jointly put in place the best strategies and practices to increase Maharashtra’s marketing footprint and position it as the most preferred destination,” said Rawal.
Singh added, “This is a landmark agreement that will provide valuable support for Maharashtra Tourism’s global campaigns and marketing activities, as well as some of the industry’s most important trade and business events. This unique and important partnership between Maharashtra Tourism, Etihad Airways and Jet Airways will boost the state’s image exponentially.”
Since Jet Airways began operations from Mumbai in 1993, the airline has flown millions of guests to and from its main hub over the past 24 years.
James Hogan, president and CEO, Etihad Aviation Group, said, “Being part of one of the world’s largest economies, Maharashtra has plenty to offer business and leisure travellers. We are therefore delighted to expand our links to promote tourism to this vibrant state, which we have been serving with dedicated flights for 13 years. This is the first time a state government in India has ventured into such a tourism partnership with the airline industry, hence we appreciate the opportunity to work with our strategic Indian partner Jet Airways on the breakthrough agreement. Our combined operation with Jet Airways between Abu Dhabi and Mumbai, complemented by Jet’s widespread domestic services, is further testament to the importance of Maharashtra on our route map.”
Mumbai was also the first Indian city to be served by Etihad Airways with the launch of daily flights in September 2004. A second daily service was introduced in November 2013, followed two years later by a third daily frequency.
Naresh Goyal, chairman, Jet Airways, added, “It is a moment of both pride and honour that the Government of Maharashtra has chosen to join hands with Jet Airways and our strategic partner Etihad Airways in this unique initiative of leveraging our collective resources to strengthen travel and tourism to the state. Mumbai is Jet Airways’ home hub and the airline shares a warm and emotional bond with Mumbai and the state of Maharashtra. We operate our highest number of flights from the city and have always positioned and promoted Mumbai as the gateway to the state and the country. Our mutual network represents a huge market that can be potentially accessed in support of this initiative.”
Etihad Airways’ Indian network to and from Abu Dhabi covers 11 cities that also includes Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, New Delhi, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram. Jet Airways offers the additional Indian cities of Pune, Lucknow, Mangalore and Goa to Abu Dhabi, as well as numerous domestic connections.
During 2017, Jet Airways is scheduled to launch flights from Kannur and Chandigarh to Abu Dhabi, subject to appropriate regulatory approvals and completion of operational readiness at these airports.
Combined, both carriers operate over 250 flights each week between Abu Dhabi and 15 Indian cities.
