Etihad Airways will expand its presence in India after receiving approval to take a 24 percent stake in Jet Airways. The airline’s growth plan begins with more frequent services and larger aircraft on several existing India routes.
Services between Abu Dhabi (AUH) and both Mumbai (BOM) and New Delhi (DEL) have been increased from seven to 14 weekly flights. Etihad will also raise frequencies to Kochi (COK) from seven to 14 weekly flights starting June 2014, to Bengaluru (BLR) and Chennai (MAA) from July 2014, and to Hyderabad (HYD) from October 2014.
On the Abu Dhabi–Mumbai and Abu Dhabi–New Delhi routes, evening services have been upgraded from Airbus A320 aircraft to larger Airbus A330 and A340 jets to accommodate growing demand. New 174-seat Airbus A321 aircraft will be introduced on the Abu Dhabi–Chennai sector and on Abu Dhabi–Kochi services beginning June 2014.
In addition to increasing capacity, Etihad plans to codeshare on Jet Airways-operated flights between India and the United States through its Abu Dhabi hub, pending regulatory approval. This collaboration, enabled by Etihad’s investment in Jet Airways—the first instance of permitted foreign investment in an Indian carrier—aims to strengthen connectivity between India, Abu Dhabi, and destinations across Etihad’s global network.
“India is one of the world’s largest and fastest-growing air travel markets, and will play an increasingly important role in our growth,” said James Hogan, president and CEO of Etihad Airways. “Through our purchase of 24 percent of Jet Airways we have laid the foundations for major and exciting growth in air services between Abu Dhabi and India, and beyond throughout our global network.”
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