Etihad Airways is celebrating 10 years of flying to the southern Indian state of Kerala with the introduction of additional flights to the popular destination.
The airline has launched a fourth daily non-stop service between Kozhikode and Abu Dhabi. The extra capacity takes to 63 the total number of weekly services between Abu Dhabi and its three Kerala gateways of Kochi, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram.
Since Etihad Airways’ first flight to Kerala on May 31, 2007, when it inducted services to Thiruvananthapuram, followed two days later by the inaugural Kochi flight, the airline has flown almost 3.5 million guests to and from the state. The Kozhikode route was launched on August 1, 2008.
The current capacity includes four flights a day to Kozhikode; thrice-daily to Kochi and double daily to Thiruvananthapuram. The Kerala flights are operated with a mix of Airbus 320 and A321 aircraft featuring up to 16 seats in Business Class and 158 in Economy.
In addition, strategic Indian partner Jet Airways operates seven flights a week from Kochi to Abu Dhabi. The services largely cater to the huge expatriate population from all three Kerala cities and the surrounding areas, living and working in the Gulf region.
