Etihad may double India operations

BY A CORRESPONDENT
May 23, 2006

UAE's national airline Etihad Airways is planning to double the number of flights it operates to Mumbai and Delhi, according to a Business Standard report. According to Etihad Airways Area Manager (Western & Southern India) Neerja Bhatia, cited in the report, "We are looking at enhancing Mumbai services to 14 flights a week and daily flights from Delhi." Currently, the airline operates 10 flights a week, 7 from Mumbai to Abu Dhabi and 3 from Delhi to Abu Dhabi.

With an eye on the increasing traffic between the Indian community in the Gulf as well as in the UK and the US, the airline has decided to up its investments in the coming years. According to Bhatia, the carrier may purchase more aircraft by the end of 2006, and add more Indian cities to its route.

Potential destinations include Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Bangalore, Hyderbad and Chennai. The airline has already expanded operations recently, with Islamabad, Peshawar, Brussels, Toronto, Johannesburg and Manila added to its area of operations. This month, it will be adding Manchester and Muscat.

In addition, Etihad Airways will launch a special passenger recognition programme and spruce up its website in August.
The carrier had recently introduced the new Airbus A330-200 on the Mumbai-Abu Dhabi route, an introduction that the airline sees as defining Etihad's rapid growth in this sector.