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EMIRATES TO START SERVICES TO THIRUVANANTHAPURAM
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Airline to also boost services to southern cities of
Cochin and Chennai
DUBAI, U.A.E, 19th
December 2005 – Emirates, one of the world’s fastest
growing international airlines, today announced it
will start services between Dubai and India’s
Thiruvananthapuram International Airport from 1st
February 2006. On the same day, the airline will
also boost services to two other major Indian cities
- Cochin and Chennai.
Emirates will fly
eight times a week to Thiruvananthapuram, its sixth
destination in India and second city in the state of
Kerala after Cochin. On the route, the airline
intends to operate its modern Airbus A330-200 in a
three-class configuration offering seats in First,
Business and Economy class, as well as the B777-200
aircraft in a two-class configuration. Both
wide-bodied aircraft offer industry-leading comforts
including ergonomically designed seats, and personal
entertainment systems in all classes.
On 1st
February 2006, Emirates will also increase its
service to Cochin from five-a-week to a daily
service; and add four more flights to Chennai to
serve the city eight times a week.
HH Sheikh Ahmed bin
Saeed Al-Maktoum, Emirates Chairman, said: “We are
very pleased to be able to offer our customers more
travel connections to and from India with our new
flights to Thiruvananthapuram, and our increased
service frequency to Cochin and Chennai.
“Air transport links
form the foundation on which commerce can prosper
and on which friendly relations are built. We
welcome our new links with Thiruvananthapuram and
look forward to growing that relationship as we have
done with the cities of Cochin and Chennai.”
Sheikh Ahmed added:
“We would like to thank the government of India for
its support. Emirates is committed to contributing
to the dynamic Indian economy, and we look forward
to facilitating greater tourism and business traffic
to the cities which we serve.”
In Thiruvananthapuram,
the capital city of the state of Kerala, Emirates
will invest in a dedicated sales office to provide
top-notch service to its customers, and recruit over
25 staff to manage passenger, airport and cargo
operations. The airline also intends to hire more
staff in Cochin and Chennai to support its expanded
operations.
The airline will
promote its newest destination, Thiruvananthapuram,
to business and leisure travellers through its sales
and marketing efforts.
India is already one
of the U.A.E.’s top five major trading partners with
total trade volume chalking up over AED 13 billion
in 2003. Bilateral ties between both countries
continue to strengthen with each passing year.
Emirates’ increased services to Cochin and Chennai
will cater to the strong demand for seats between
Dubai and India, as both booming economies attract
growing interest from regional and international
business traffic. The added flights will also
benefit the large population of expatriates from
India’s southern states living and working in the
U.A.E.
Emirates currently
operates 43 non-stop flights a week between Dubai
and India – 19 to Mumbai, seven to Delhi, four to
Chennai, five to Cochin and eight to Hyderabad.
Flight Schedules
Below flight schedules
are subject to final approval from the respective
airport authorities. All timings are local.
Thiruvananthapuram new service
Flight
Days
Depart Arrive
EK
520 Mon, Tues, Thurs,
Sat DXB at 1320 TRV at
1840
EK
521 Mon, Tues, Thurs,
Sat TRV at 2010 DXB at
2245
EK
522 Tues, Wed, Fri,
Sun DXB at 2155 TRV at
0315*
EK
523 Mon, Wed, Thurs,
Sat TRV at 0430 DXB at
0705
Cochin additional services
Flight
Days
Depart Arrive
EK
530 Tues,
Thurs DXB at
0400 COK at 0915
EK
531 Tues,
Thurs COK at
1030 DXB at 1305
Chennai additional services
Flight
Days
Depart Arrive
EK
542
Fri DXB
at 2100 MAA at 0215*
EK
543
Sat MAA at
0330 DXB at 0620
EK
544 Wed, Sat,
Sun DXB at
0300 MAA at 0820
EK
545 Wed, Sat,
Sun MAA at
0935 DXB at 1230
* Next day
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