Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, will increase and upgrade flights to key cities in India.

Starting from January 1, flights to Kozhikode will be more than doubled, from three to seven a week. Colombo will also be serviced by daily flights with services increasing from four to seven a week starting from January 2.

The increase will coincide with the re-introduction of the Pearl Business class product on both routes to cater to growing business and corporate demand and high-end leisure traffic.

The additional services will be operated by Airbus A320 aircraft fitted with 16 Pearl Business Class seats and will almost double capacity on both routes.

The number of connections from the airline’s Abu Dhabi hub will also be improved to over 370 connections a week for Kozhikode (representing an increase of 240 per cent) and 300 connections a week for Colombo ( an increase of 170 per cent).

Other key destinations including Jeddah, Johannesburg, Lagos, Milan and Toronto will be connected to Kozhikode while Geneva, Munich and Astana will be connected to Colombo, a press release said.  

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. Since the start of flights to Kozhikode in 2008, Etihad Airways has carried more than 180,000 passengers.

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