By IANS
Dubai : In a bid to strengthen its India operations, Dubai based Emirates Airlines will increase the frequency of its flights to eight Indian cities from 71 a week to 85.
The airline announced that it would introduce a third-daily service to Mumbai and a second-daily service to Chennai in October. It would also add three additional flights each to Cochin and Hyderabad over this year, the announcement said.
"Asia's fastest growing free market economy, India, is expanding its links with the Gulf and forging ahead with joint, multibillion dollar projects in tourism, commerce and infrastructure.
"Having fuelled strong economic and trade ties between the Middle East and India since the start of its services in 1985, Emirates is well-poised to support India's rapid growth in the 21st century with its efficient, reliable and increased air links," said Nabil Sultan, Emirates' senior vice-president commercial operations, West Asia and Indian Ocean.
As part of the expansion drive, the airline will use modern, wide-bodied Airbus A330-200 and Boeing 777 aircraft in two and three-class configurations, Khaleej Times reported.
"The airline has noticed a steadily growing market demand, prompting us to provide greater capacity through frequency increases and aircraft upgrades," Nabil Sultan said.