Etihad Airways has doubled the number of flights and tripled the number of seats which it offers between Abu Dhabi and the Indian cities of Mumbai and New Delhi, adding a second daily service and introducing wide-bodied Airbus jets on both routes.

Under the expanded schedules, effective immediately, new mid-afternoon services to Mumbai and New Delhi are operated with single-aisle Airbus A320s, each seating 136 passengers, and existing late evening departures have been upgraded to larger aircraft.

On the Abu Dhabi-Mumbai route, the evening flight is now operated with 292-seat Airbus A340-600 aircraft, seating 12 passengers in Diamond First Class, 32 in Pearl Business Class and 248 in Coral Economy. This is the first Indian route on which Etihad Airways has offered First Class.

The A340-600 will add 2,044 seats per week from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai, taking the total from 952 to 2,996 seats in each direction – just over triple the previous capacity.

On the Abu Dhabi – New Delhi route, the evening service has been upgraded to a 254-seat Airbus A330-200 aircraft, seating 18 guests in Business Class and 236 in Economy. This will add 1,778 seats per week to and from New Delhi, increasing from 952 seats to 2,730 in each direction – almost triple the previous capacity.

The new Etihad Airways flights will also be marketed by Jet Airways as an extension of the airlines’ existing codeshare partnership.

President and Chief Executive Officer of Etihad Airways, James Hogan, said the increased capacity on both routes was in response to growing demand for more seats and delivered more schedule choice between Abu Dhabi and India’s two largest cities.

“India is a significant and growing market for us,” Mr. Hogan said. “These increases enable us to serve not only the local traffic demands between Abu Dhabi and India, but also to deliver much greater international connectivity for business and leisure guests.

“Travellers from India will have more opportunities to connect with flights to destinations including Abu Dhabi, the GCC, Middle East, Africa, Europe and North America, while those flying to India will benefit from additional seats and more schedule options, providing greater travel flexibility.”
 

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