As India and the Gulf Cooperation Council gear up to take the next quantum leap in bi-lateral relations with the signing of a free trade agreement, Emirates Airline, one of the fastest-growing international carriers has unveiled plans to implement significant capacity enhancements to Mumbai, Chennai, Cochin, and Hyderabad.

In a major strengthening of its India operations, Emirates will introduce a third daily service to Mumbai and a double-daily operation to Chennai starting 28 October. The airline will also add three additional flights each to Cochin and Hyderabad over the summer and winter seasons.

In all, the Dubai-based airline will ramp up its India capacity from the current 71 to 85 passenger flights per week to eight Indian gateways.

Mumbai – Emirates will introduce the larger-capacity Boeing 777 aircraft on its existing 19-flights-per-week Mumbai service, and will add two additional frequencies, bringing the total number of flights to 21-per-week or triple-daily.

Chennai – Emirates’ Dubai-Chennai service will be progressively stepped up from eight to 11 flights per week by 1 August; and propelled further to a double-daily service with the induction of three additional frequencies on 28 October. At the start of the winter season, the airline’s operations to Chennai will total 14 flights per week.

Cochin – Further reinforcing its footprint in the economically-robust South India, Emirates will operate two additional weekly flights to Cochin with immediate effect, and introduce a third extra flight on 1 August, taking its total operations to 10 weekly flights.

Hyderabad – Effective 28 October, links between Dubai and Hyderabad, the capital city of the state of Andhra Pradesh, will also be boosted with three additional frequencies, bringing Emirates’ weekly total to 11 flights.

In Malta, the airline operates five flights weekly between Malta and Dubai via Larnaca in Cyprus, on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays on the new Boeing 777-200.

Visit Emirates on-line at: www.emirates.com