Emirates keen to add more seats to India

Hyderabad - Emirates senior vice-president Ahmed Hashim Khoorey was talking to reporters on the sidelines of India Aviation 2016, where the airline is displaying its A380.

Emirates airline is looking to expand its operations in India and is negotiating with the Indian government for more seats, a top company executive said here on Wednesday.
The airline, which operates one A380 aircraft on its Mumbai-Dubai route, is keen to operate more such flights but the executive said this would depend on the outcome of negotiations, approvals and facilities available at the airports.
Emirates senior vice-president Ahmed Hashim Khoorey was talking to reporters on the sidelines of India Aviation 2016, where the airline is displaying its A380.
"We were given 2,000-plus seats to operate from Mumbai in 2014 that gave us the capability to operate an A380," he said.
He was optimistic about the outcome of talks for additional seats on Indian routes. "Bilateral talks are on a fast track after the Indian prime minister's visit to the UAE last year. We hope we will have something very soon," he said.
Emirates currently has more than 73 A380 aircrafts in service. "We bring the A380 to show our commitment to the Hyderabad air show. It is a strong flagship carrier for Emirates. Serving A380 depends on market demand and also depends on the airport, how it is ready to handle such an aircraft," said Essa Sulaimaan Ahmad, vice-president of India and Nepal, Emirates.
Essa said Emirates would run the A380 on commercially viable routes. He did not rule out Hyderabad for its operation.
Meanwhile, Etihad Airways made its debut at this year's aviation show, where it is showcasing two new aircraft - Boeing 787 passenger jet and Boeing 777 freighter.
It operates 175 scheduled passenger flights each week to India.
The Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner is one of the five in the airline's fleet, while the Boeing 777 freighter is the 11th aircraft in its fleet, which not only serves India but also destinations in Europe, South America, Far East and Africa, executives said.
Last year, Etihad and its Indian partner Jet Airways carried 3.3 million passengers to and from India - a 63 per cent increase over the two million flown in 2014.
Abu Dhabi's flag carrier currently serves 11 Indian destinations from Abu Dhabi.