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Emirates to raise capacity to India this year

K.Venkiteswaran

Dubai: TheEmirates airline, based in Dubai, announced its plans to start services to Kolkata and Bangalore shortly.

Talking to a group of visiting journalists from Kerala, Nabil Sultan, senior vice president (commercial operations, West Asia and Indian Ocean region) of the airline said the Kolkata flight would be launched on March 26 and the one to Bangalore on Oct 29, taking the number of its flights to India to 71.

Presence in 6 cities

Emirates has a presence in six cities, the latest being a flight to Thiruvananthapuram since February 1.

Of the present 57 services of the Emirates airlines to India, 15 are to Kerala. "Kozhikode and second-tier cities like Pune and Ahemdabad are in the radar. Flights will be launched once the necessary permission is obtained," Mr. Sultan said.

The airline has been promoting Kerala as a tourist destination, Mr. Sultan said. It plans to bring tour operators from the European Union to promote Kerala in the West. The question of adding extra flights to Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram would be addressed once Government sanction was obtained, he said.

Emirates will launch eight flights a week to Bangalore.The airline expected to clock in a cargo revenue of one billion dollars and a cargo volume of one million tonnes during the current financial year, he said.

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