RAK Airways set to increase flights to Indian city

RAK Airways said on Saturday that it will increase flights to Calicut, India to make it a daily service from December 15.

The UAE airline said it had seen increasing customer demand on the route to Calicut, also known as Kozhikode, in the state of Kerala in southern India.

John Brayford, CEO, RAK Airways, said: "Calicut is one of our key destinations and passenger demand on our Calicut flights has always been exceptionally good.

"I believe stepping up the frequency will satisfy our passenger mix of tourists as well as the significant number of Indian expatriates from the southern state of Kerala, working in the UAE and in GCC."

RAK Airways flew more than 250,000 passengers on its network in 2011 and is aiming for a 60 percent increase in the number of passengers it will carry this year as it prepares to offer five new international routes and domestic flights to the capital Abu Dhabi.

The airline's present route network comprises of 10 cities - Abu Dhabi, Peshawar, Lahore, Chittagong, Dhaka, Cairo, Kathmandu, Calicut, Doha and Jeddah.

Brayford said in September that a codesharing agreement with Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways will see RAK Airways passengers able to transit straight through onto five new international routes.

The routes being offered via the RAK Airways-Etihad codeshare include Heathrow, Manchester, Dublin, Geneva and Bangkok, with Germany and the US due to be added later.

RAK Airways is the 39th codeshare partner of Etihad and has agreed not to compete with Etihad routes.

The company was launched in 2006 and relaunched in October 2010. The carrier has also added business class seats to its aircraft.