Emirates launches Kolkata service

Kolkata: Emirates airline on Friday expanded its India operations with the launch of a direct service between Dubai and Kolkata in West Bengal.

The launch of the Dubai-Kolkata sector marks Emirates's first service to northeastern India. Emirates will have six scheduled flights between Kolkata and Dubai every week.

"Kolkata is our seventh Indian gate and adds to our current network of New Delhi, Mumbai, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram," executive vice-president for commercial operations Ghaith Al Ghaith told a press conference in Kolkata.

West Bengal chief secretary Amit Kiran Deb and other senior bureaucrats welcomed the inaugural flight EK546 at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose International Airport in the morning.

Al Ghaith said the launch of the new service is timely as India prepares to sign a free trade agreement with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

The flights will also cater to northeastern India's "untapped travel and trade resources," Al Ghaith said.

West Bengal principal secretary for tourism T.K. Burman hoped that despite West Bengal's main interest in attracting tourists from the UAE, both Emirates and Kolkata will benefit from the new service.

"At the moment we are targeting high-end tourists who enjoy everything from hiking in the hills to lying on a beach," he said.

With over 1,500 seats per week in each direction and over 95 tonnes of cargo capacity, the flights will provide travellers from Bengal with better connectivity to Dubai and vice versa, the officials said.

Emirates will operate the Airbus A330-200 aircraft on the route in three and two-class configurations. While the three-class configuration will seat 12 in first class, 22 in business and 83 in economy, the two-class configuration will seat 42 business and 231 economy passengers.

Although April 7 marked the inaugural flight for this sector, Emirates started fights on the route from March 26.

According to Al Ghaith, the flights during the first week went with an average of a 70 per cent load factor on the route. The average load factor for the entire India sector is 90 per cent.

Emirates has introduced several attractive offers for Kolkata's travellers. The "Free Dubai Nights" offer entitles the airline's first class passengers to two complimentary nights in a deluxe room at the Ritz Carlton.

Business and economy class passengers will be entitled to one night's free accommodation in a deluxe room at the Habtoor Grand Resort and Spa and Dhow Palace Hotel respectively.