Etihad To Expand India Operations

Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the United Arab Emirates, will greatly increase travel options to and from India with more flights and wide-bodied jets by the end of this year, subject to regulatory approval.

From 1 November 2013, Etihad plans to more than triple the number of seats it now offers on the prime Abu Dhabi-Mumbai and Abu Dhabi-New Delhi routes.

Enriching the expanded schedules will be new connection opportunities between Etihad’s global network and its expanded Indian services via the airline’s Abu Dhabi hub.

“Following the recent signing of a new air services agreement between India and the UAE, we now have the opportunity to add significant capacity between the two countries, not only meeting existing demand for trade and tourist travel but also ensuring that we can meet the continued strong growth which is expected between our two countries,” said James Hogan, president and chief executive officer of Etihad Airways.

Etihad also intends to codeshare on a wide range of flights operated within India by Jet Airways.