Etihad Airways, UAE’s national carrier, has launched daily flights from its hub to Kolkata - the airline’s 11th destination in India on its own, and its 15th destination in combination with network partner Jet Airways.

Neerja Bhatia, Etihad Airways general manager – India; Craig Thomas, Etihad Airways Regional general manager Asia Pacific North and Indian Subcontinent (ISC); and Dr B P Sharma, airport director of Airports Authority of India, will host a special ribbon cutting at the gate.

Peter Baumgartner, Etihad Airways chief commercial officer, said: “We’re delighted to add Kolkata, an economic powerhouse and the airline’s first destination in North Eastern India, to our flight network.”

“This new service will support the growing demand from air travellers who are keen to fly between West Bengal and the Middle East, Europe and North America via our Abu Dhabi home base,” he said.

Kolkata is the main commercial and financial hub of East and North-East India with a metropolitan population of approximately 14.1 million people. The city is home to the Kolkata Stock Exchange and has recently experienced a major economic rejuvenation driven by the expanding IT sector.

Etihad’s lead-in fares for a return flight from Abu Dhabi to will start from Dh1,315 ($358) for Economy Class and Dh3,150 ($857) for Business Class.

The airline will operate a two cabin A320 aircraft between the two cities which is configured to carry 136 passengers, with 16 in Business Class and 120 in Economy Class. – TradeArabia News Service