Airline Code [ETD]
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Abu Dhabi flag carrier Etihad announced 02-Sep-07 that it will request approval from the Government of India to operate services to eight new Indian destinations Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kozhikode, Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Jaipur and Kolkata.
Etihad, which separately announced it will enter into a codeshare deal with SriLankan Airlines on Abu Dhabi-Colombo services, effective 15-Sep-07, will further request an increased frequency allowance on two of the four destinations that it already serves.
As of the Oct-07 schedule, it operates a daily trip Mumbai, New Delhi, Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi, a pattern that represents the maximum allowance under the current bilateral air services agreement between the two nations. Etihad will apply to operate more frequencies to Mumbai and New Delhi.
The request comes at an interesting time for both countries. For the UAE, it underscores the importance of the India market for its home carriers. Air Arabia, Emirates and Etihad all enjoy solid passenger figures from the Subcontinent region (and services to the region feature heavily in the plans of new carriers RAK Airlines, from Ras Al Khaimah, and Kang Pacific Airways of Fujairah).
For the UAE carriers, India has long been an important source of point-to-point (mostly labour) traffic, as well as connecting passengers (often high-yielding) onto longer services. These carriers will have watched with some apprehension as Indian carriers have increased in size and scale. The increase of India-to-US and India-to-UK services – especially those conducted on a non-stop basis – will be looked upon as especially daunting. Against this backdrop, Etihad’s move could be seen as having some urgency.
From the Indian side of the equation, the application will be further ammunition for the domestic carriers that are prohibited from flying overseas until they have attained five years of intra-India service. Arguing for a regulation change, these carriers –whose ranks include Kingfisher, SpiceJet and Go – allege that the regulations both unfairly handicap them relative to the older Indian carriers, and also play a key role in the Indian travel market being dominated by overseas carriers.
The Indian Ministry of Civil Aviation stating that it wants Indian carriers to have a 50% share of the international traffic to/from India. How it responds to Etihad’s application will be closely watched.
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Etihad looks to expand services to India 
