More flights to Middle East soon

The Middle East-India route is hotting up in December as several airlines are busy raising the number of flights.

The airlines are targeting the large population of expatriates from India's southern states living and working in the UAE. With more and more airlines flocking to Middle East -India route, the rates are being lowered to rock-bottom levels.

The major players in the India - Middle East route are Air-India, Air India Express, Indian Airlines, Emirates, Ehiad Airways, Saudia, Kuwait Airlines, Gulf Air, Cathay Pacific and Sharjah's low cost carrier Air Arabia LLC.

National flag carrier Air-India is offering one-way Pune-Dubai at Rs 5,475 including taxes and the return fare at Rs 12,105 including taxes. These are introductory fares and will be offered till Christmas. Air-India has launched flights on the Pune-Dubai sector from December 12.

Till April 2003, there were 25 weekly flights to Dubai from India. Now the number of weekly flights have gone up to 42. While Air-India operates 28 flights to Dubai from Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Lucknow and Thiruvananthapuram, daily services to Dubai from Kochi and Kozhikode are operated by Air India Express. Indian Airlines too is operating services to Al Fujairah, Bahrain, Doha, Dubai, Muscat, Ras Al Khaima and Sharjah from different Indian cities.

UAE-based no-frill airline Air Arabia has already kickstarted a low fare revolution in Middle East by offering a fare from Mumbai to Sharjah at Rs 3,000.

According to Air Arabia Country Manager Rohit Ramachandran, the passengers to Sharjah had managed to get even a fare of Rs 2,500 last week as the fare structure at the airline is based on supply and demand.

"When demand rises, Air Arabia will charge fare at slabs like Rs 3,000, Rs 3,500 and Rs 4,000. We are now targeting the Dubai Shopping Festival and expatriates coming back the for Christmas and New Year holidays," he pointed out.

The airline is operating total 19 flights from Mumbai and Nagpur to Sharjah every week. "Air Arabia is operating two fligths a day from Mumbai to Sharjah and five flights a week from Nagpur," Ramachandran added.

Meanwhile, Emirates has announced further enhancement of flight from Kerala and Chennai to Dubai. From February 1, the airline will start services between Dubai and Thiruvananthapuram and will also increase its service to Kochi from five-a-week to a daily service.

Its fares for Dubai flight starts from Rs 9,500 excluding taxes for one way from Thiruvananthapuram and Rs 5,380 excluding taxes from Kochi.

Etihad Airways has announced the introduction of an additional flight between Delhi and Abu Dhabi between December 12 and January 30 to cater to increasing air traffic demand during the peak season.

Currently, Etihad operates seven flights from Mumbai and three flights from Delhi to Abu Dhabi every week.

Gulf Airlines is also operating over 65 services per week to Middle East destination from India at competitive rates.

Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways is currently operating an additional flight between Mumbai and Dubai from December 12 up to February 1. It is already operating four flights a week to Dubai from Mumbai.

Cathay Pacific is offering competitive rates to passengers from India to UAE, airline executives said.

"The Middle East - India route is always a bonanza for airline companies. Indian Airlines is registering almost 100 per cent load factor in this route. With the additional demand and increased competition, we have initiated several promotional fares for the sector," an Indian Airlines executive pointed out.

Emirates will fly eight times a week to Thiruvananthapuram, its sixth destination in India and second city in Kerala after Kochi. Emirates is planning to operate its modern Airbus A330-200 on the route, in a three-class configuration offering seats in first, business and economy class, as well as the B777-200 aircraft in a two-class configuration.

The airline will add four more flights to Chennai to serve the city eight times a week effective from February 1.

In Thiruvananthapuram, Emirates will invest in a dedicated sales office to provide top-notch service to its customers, and recruit over 25 staff to manage passenger, airport and cargo operations. The airline also intends to hire more staff in Kochi and Chennai to support its expanded operations.

Emirates currently operates 43 non-stop flights a week between Dubai and India - 19 to Mumbai, seven to Delhi, four to Chennai, five to Cochin and eight to Hyderabad.

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FARE WAR

One-way Pune-Dubai Air-India fare: Rs 5,475 including taxes

One-way Mumbai-Sharjah Air Arabia fare: Rs 3,000

Emirates flight from Kochi to Dubai: Rs 5,380 excluding taxes