Emirates airline has announced a further expansion of its India operations, the company’s media release informed on Thursday. The Dubai-based airline will add 22 weekly flights as a support for the Indian government’s ambitious growth plan to attract 100 million travellers in 2010. The existing service of 163 flights per week to 10 Indian gateways will be strengthened to 185 over the summer and winter periods.
High demand routes – Ahmedabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram – will be the chief beneficiaries, the company said. The airline’s expansion programme closely follows its ‘Journey through India’ campaign which involved a major revamp of the inflight product to meet regional preferences of India’s diverse populace. In the media release, Majid Al Mualla, Emirates’ Vice President, Commercial Operations West Asia and Indian Ocean said: “The global slowdown is not over yet, but the outlook for the future is showing signs of improvement. When traditional European markets dried up, India was quick to refocus its trade and marketing efforts in targeting regions not severely affected by the economic downturn such as the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Africa and parts of Southeast Asia. Emirates has a robust global network spanning over 100 cities in more than 60 countries and is well-placed to connect India to the world. “Already, Emirates is witnessing a surge in the number of Middle East travellers seeking medical tourism options in India, given the favourable exchange rate and world-class facilities available.”
Emirates will serve Ahmedabad with a double-daily operation, adding six weekly flights to its existing eight-flights-a-week service.
Emirates’ Chennai service will become a triple-daily with the addition of two flights between October and December this year, making Emirates the largest international carrier to operate from the city.
Emirates will enhance connectivity to Kolkata with five additional flights from 3rd December, bringing its total frequency to 12 per week. Export of fresh fruits, vegetables, jute, leather, silk and tea will benefit from an improved cargo capacity of 190 tonnes per week per direction. Kozhikode – a port city in the Indian state of Kerala – has been frequented by Middle East traders as early as the seventh century. The airline will further strengthen its Dubai – Kozhikode connection by adding five flights from Dec 2.
Emirates will boost its access to the tourist gateway, Thiruvananthapuram with the introduction of four additional flights between October and December, bringing its total frequency to the city to 12 flights a week. With increases allocated to Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram, Emirates will serve the South Indian state of Kerala with 37 weekly flights, boosting the inbound tourism potential for the picturesque state.
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