Etihad reaffirms commitment to Maharashtra
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Etihad Airways’ president & CEO, James Hogan, has reaffirmed his company’s commitment to the Indian state of Maharashtra and its capital, Mumbai.
Hogan met Maharashtra’s Chief Minister, Devendra Fadnavis, this week, who outlined the priorities of the state, identifying potential opportunities for Etihad to support Maharashtra’s economic growth. The two parties also discussed new areas of collaboration, including tourism promotion.
In turn, Hogan gave the Chief Minister an introduction to Etihad, its operations in India and its partnership with Mumbai-based Jet Airways.
Combined, Etihad and Jet operate more than 220 weekly flights between India and Abu Dhabi, including six daily flights from Maharashtra – five from Mumbai and one from Pune.
Hogan also noted that Etihad carries more travellers into India than it takes out. In 2014 the number of flights to India, purchased in Europe, the GCC and US, rose by 65% compared to the previous year.
In the first six months of 2015, Etihad transferred more than 235,000 passengers onto Jet’s Indian network through its codeshare partnership, while Jet transferred 182,000 passengers onto the Etihad network.
Etihad was the first overseas airline to invest in an Indian carrier after the relaxation of India’s FDI regulations, when it purchased a 24% stake in Jet for US$750 million.
Relations between the UAE and India are set to grow next week, with the visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the UAE on 16 and 17 August.
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