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Etihad Airways has hired 200 cabin crew from India as it plans major route expansion in partnership with Jet Airways. The Abu Dhabi based airline held a recruitment campaign which attracted more than 1,000 applications.
The drive was held in Bangalore, Mumbai and New Delhi. Richard Hill, Etihad Airways’ Chief Operations Officer, said in a statement: “India will play an increasingly central part in the expansion of Etihad Airways and we are delighted that so many men and women are keen to join our ranks as members of cabin crew. Etihad has a total cabin crew strength of over 4,000 persons.
Last week Etihad announced it would double its flights to Mumbai and Delhi by the end of December. This followed the Union Cabinet approving enhanced traffic rights between India and Abu Dhabi.
Etihad would use the wide-bodied Airbus A340 and Airbus A330 on one of its Delhi and Mumbai flights. The Mumbai flight would have three class configuration including a first class. The airline is also deploying a 174 seat Airbus A321 aircraft to Chennai instead of the 136 seat Airbus A320, which it flies now.
Etihad is picking up 24% stake in Jet Airways but the deal is still awaiting regulatory approval. Jet Airways is yet to announce its expansion plans. Sources said Jet is likely to connect cities including Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad to Abu Dhabi in the next few months but is unlikely to open new routes beyond Abu Dhabi in the upcoming winter schedule.
