ETIHAD AIRWAYS SET FOR NEXT PHASE OF INDIA GROWTH PLAN
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Etihad Airways will provide travellers with even more connections between India, the UAE and other key markets around the world, following a major service upgrade to Kochi, Bengaluru, Chennai, Kozhikode and Hyderabad this summer. Due to strong demand from business and leisure travellers, a double-daily frequency has begun operating to Bengaluru, Chennai and Kozhikode, and Hyderabad will commence from 1 October. As a result, guests have the option of daytime or overnight flights, and improved connections between India and key markets in the GCC, Middle East, Africa, Europe and North America.
Double-daily frequencies were also introduced to the Kochi route last month, as well as Mumbai and New Delhi in November 2013, supporting a long-term development plan in India. In addition to the seven existing or planned double-daily services, Etihad Airways operates daily to Ahmedabad, Trivandrum and most recently, Jaipur, where flights commenced in April 2014.
James Hogan, President and Chief Executive Officer, Etihad Airways, said, “As one of the largest, fastest-growing and most exciting travel markets in the world, India continues to play an important role in our growth plans. Last year alone, more than 885,000 people flew on our Indian services, a substantial increase of 20 per cent on the previous year. Subject to regulatory approvals, we will continue to expand our India operations and work with Jet Airways to accommodate strong growth and deliver much greater choice for travel to and from India.”
Last month, Etihad Airways also announced a significant expansion of its codeshare agreement with Jet Airways, after the two airlines obtained regulatory approval to codeshare on 43 additional routes, bringing the total number of services in their codeshare agreement to 71. As part of the expansion, Etihad Airways has placed its ‘EY’ code on domestic services in India for the first time, with the codeshare agreement now including 31 Jet Airways routes from hubs in Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai and Bangalore to regional centres in Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Goa, Hyderabad, Jaipur, Kochi, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mangalore, Patna, Trivandrum and Vadodara.
Also included are Jet Airways flights between Abu Dhabi and Bengaluru, Chennai, Cochin, Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad, and Etihad Airways flights between Abu Dhabi and Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kochi, Kozhikode, Mumbai, New Delhi and Trivandrum.
Hogan added, “This codeshare expansion was a milestone development for both airlines. In addition to placing our ‘EY’ code on domestic flights within India for the first time, the agreement now incorporates more services between Abu Dhabi and India than ever before, benefitting travellers with enhanced network reach, more frequent services, and increased convenience.”
The new codeshare routes are now available for sale and enable members of the integrated Etihad Guest and JetPrivilege frequent flyer programs to earn and redeem miles, while also benefitting from reciprocal tier level recognition across the global networks of both airlines.