Ahmedabad: 9th city for Etihad
Etihad reinforces its commitment to India by launching flights, this November, on the new Abu Dhabi Ahmedabad route. The airline discusses its growth in India and highlights the importance of travel agents.
At present, the airline operates 52 flights per week to eight cities across the country, namely, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Calicut, Cochin, Mumbai, New Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram. This winter, the airline will increase its presence in India, by adding another destination on their map. “Etihad Airways will start daily flights from Ahmedabad in November. The new route will be served by an A320 aircraft. It supports the airline’s aim to connect key strategic cities in India with its home base in Abu Dhabi and enhance commercial and leisure travel with the UAE’s capital city,” says Neerja
Bhatia, General Manager - India, Etihad Airways. Etihad Airways began its Indian operations in September 2004, with its first scheduled flight between Abu Dhabi and Mumbai. Over the years, the airline has grown by leaps and bounds but it hasn’t forgotten to give credit to the most important fragment on the industry, the travel agents. Discussing the importance of the agents, Bhatia says, “Travel agents are a crucial component of the travel process in India. Corporate clients and travel agents contribute 85 to 90 per cent of the sale of flight tickets in the country.
Our trade partners are our brand ambassadors abroad, bringing our brand to a wider base of customers. They are crucial to the success of our business in India and as such we value these partnerships highly.”
Highlighting the marketing initiatives undertaken by the airline for Indian travel agents, Bhatia adds, “Trade incentive promotions are effective in cementing these partnerships. The most recent incentive programme was launched in February this year. Etihad Airways will pay a year’s cost of living for the winning agent.”
The airline has also been working closely with the UAE government to promote Abu Dhabi as a tourist destination. They offered complimentary 96- hour tourist visas to the Indian travellers transiting through the UAE. The visas were ideal for travellers making stopover visits en route to their final destination.
The airline’s expectations are large from the India market, “India is an extremely important market for Etihad Airways. Our strategy continues to get the right segment mix with corporate travellers, visiting friends and family, leisure and immigrant traffic and the right cabin mix. We currently operate 52 flights per week from Abu Dhabi to eight cities in India and average 80 per cent load factors on all Indian routes,” says Bhatia.