Dubai: Etihad Airways said on Sunday it is looking at ways to grow its business in India after a 63 per cent increase in the number of passengers carried between India and Abu Dhabi with Jet Airways in 2015.
“There is further room to grow and we are looking at the many opportunities that exist to develop our operations,” James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ president and chief executive officer, said in an emailed statement. He did not, however, say how the airline plans to grow the business.
Etihad and Jet carried 3.3 million passengers between Abu Dhabi and India in the 12 months to December 31, 2015, compared to 2 million a year earlier.
Etihad did not give a reason for the increase in passengers.
However, India is one the largest travel markets in the world and the two airlines have 20 per cent of global travellers to and from India, according to the Etihad statement.
The Abu Dhabi airline operates 175 weekly flights to 11 Indian destinations, while with Jet’s combined number of weekly services increases to 250 to 15 Indian cities.
In 2013, Etihad invested $750 million (Dh2.75 billion) to take a 24 per cent stake in Jet. Before then, the Abu Dhabi airline carried just 2 per cent of the international traffic to and from India, Etihad said Tuesday.
