Sudipta Dev – Mumbai
Etihad Airways recently announced that Mumbai and New Delhi will become its first destinations in India to be served with triple-daily flights. The third daily flight to Mumbai will start on February 15, 2015 and to New Delhi on May 1, 2015. The airline will also start daily services to Kolkata from February 15, 2015 bringing the total number of Indian cities served by Etihad Airways to 11. “Earlier this year and due to strong demand from business and leisure travellers, Etihad Airways increased the frequency of its services to India by tripling the number of seats on the Abu Dhabi-Mumbai and Abu Dhabi-New Delhi routes to 2,996 and 2,730 seats per week respectively, as well as doubling frequency to Kochi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Kozhikode,” said Neerja Bhatia, general manager – India, adding that, India is a key market of the future for Etihad Airways – and not just for services to and from the country.
Etihad Airways has identified India as a key growth market for the future, and according to Bhatia, an investment in Jet Airways fits perfectly with the airlines’ business model, which combines organic growth with strategic airline equity investments and codeshare partnerships. “Our partnership with Jet Airways will play a role in significantly improving connectivity between India and the UAE, and through our combined network of 140 destinations and codeshare partnerships with other airlines, passengers from 23 cities in India will now have convenient access to destinations across the Gulf region, Middle East, Africa, Europe and North America,” she said, pointing out that the airline is also bringing more travellers from these destinations to India, supporting the country’s aviation industry and economy.
Apart from enhanced connectivity across the world through an expanded codeshare agreement, for Indian passengers, Etihad is proving one-stop connection to cities in the US like New York and San Francisco. “Air travellers from India, flying with Etihad Airways to the US, are also increasingly enjoying the benefits of having precleared US Customs and Border Protection at Abu Dhabi International Airport, which enables them to arrive in the US as domestic passengers,” remarked Bhatia.
The strategy will continue to focus on offering significant new options for travellers to, from and within India. “We will also continue to work closely with the travel trade and leading private enterprise in the country to play a key role in the growth and development of travel and tourism between India and the UAE, and further afield to key destinations across our global network,” stated Bhatia.