Etihad proposes cargo growth to Indian market

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Market opportunities: Etihad is trying to overcome current restrictions on the frequency of flights to India.

Etihad Airways has proposed an increase in the number of Indian cities being served from its Abu Dhabi headquarters.

The airline, which operates 29 flights a week from the United Arab Emirates to India, is currently being constrained by an inter-government bilateral agreement. However, it hopes the frequency will be bolstered following a recent meeting between chief executive James Hogan and Indian minister of civil aviation Praful Patel.

"The liberalisation of aviation markets is bringing multiple benefits for both consumers and regional economies alike. I hope that Etihad Airways will be granted access to the emerging cities of India," commented Hogan.

Etihad currently operates daily flights from Abu Dhabi to the commercial capital Mumbai and national capital New Delhi, together with three flights a week to Trivandrum and four to Cochin. In addition, its Kerala route has been increased to daily flights from this month, bringing the number of weekly services from Abu Dhabi to India to 28 flights.

"In terms of our wish-list for new services from Abu Dhabi to India, we are looking at the cities of Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Calicut, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Jaipur and Kolkata," added Hogan.

Abu Dhabi has established strong trade relations with India over the past decade. The value of India's exports to the Emirate was US$239 million in 2006, which marked an increase of 48% from 2005 and 137% from 2000.

In particular, non-oil exports from Abu Dhabi to India have experienced a period of impressive growth. Valued at $149 million in 2006, this represents a 114% increase from 2005 and an impressive 782% increase from 2000.

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