Etihad to expand operation in India, S.Lanka

Etihad Airways has announced plans to substantially increase and upgrade services to key cities in the Indian subcontinent. Starting from January 1 2013, flights to the southern Indian city of Kozhikode will more than double, increasing from three to seven a week, the carrier said in a statement. The Sri Lankan capital of Colombo will also be serviced by daily flights when services increase from four to seven per week starting from January 2, it added. The increase in flights to the subcontinent comes just days after it was reported Etihad was in talks to buy a 24 percent stake in India’s Jet Airways in a deal worth $400m. In October, Etihad, Abu Dhabi’s flag carrier which has expanded globally through stake purchases in firms like Air Berlin and Virgin Australia, said it was looking to extend its geographical reach to India and other Asian markets. The increases will coincide with the re-introduction of the Pearl Business class product on both routes to cater for the growing business and corporate demand and high-end leisure traffic. The airline said the additional services will be operated by Airbus A320 aircraft and will almost double capacity on both routes. James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ president and CEO, said: “India and Sri Lanka are important destinations for us due to strong local demand and growing traffic beyond Abu Dhabi to many key destinations across our global network. “Kozhikode and Colombo are fast growing cities that serve as major business and trade hubs with many of their inhabitants working in the Gulf region.  From