Etihad wins four new Indian routes
ABU DHABI – Etihad Airways is to boost its network to India with the addition of four new cities, Chennai, Jaipur, Kolkata and Kozhikode.
The coastal city of Kozhikode will be Etihad’s third destination in Kerala to add to its highly successful flights to Kochi (Cochin) and state capital, Thiruvananthapuram (Thrivandrum).
The decision follows successful bi-lateral talks between the governments of the UAE and India, aimed at further liberalising flying links between the two countries.
The Abu Dhabi-based airline is now finalising when these services will launch.
James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ chief executive, said: ‘Etihad is always keen to build up its Indian services and we are thrilled to have been given the rights to serve four new cities in this exciting market.
Hogan spent two days in September last year in New Delhi meeting the Indian Minister for Civil Aviation Praful Patel, and senior government officials to press the carrier’s case for additional flights between India’s emerging cities and the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
At present, Etihad operates daily flights from Abu Dhabi to the commercial capital Mumbai and the national capital New Delhi as well as Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, both in the southern India state of Kerala.
Etihad had set its sights on eight cities in India for new air services from its base in Abu Dhabi with traffic rights to Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Bangalore and Hyderabad still to be gained.
Ian Jarrett
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