ABU DHABI - Etihad Airways announced it has doubled the number of flights and tripled the number of seats between Abu Dhabi and the Indian cities of Mumbai and New Delhi, adding a second daily service and introducing wide-bodied Airbus aircraft on both routes starting immediately.

Under the announced flight schedules, mid-afternoon services to Mumbai and New Delhi will be  operated with single-aisle Airbus A320 aircraft, with 136 seating capacity and current late evening departures have been upgraded to larger capacity aircraft.

On the Abu Dhabi-Mumbai route, the evening flight will be operated with 292-seat Airbus A340-600 aircraft, seating 12 passengers in first class, 32 in business class and 248 in economy.

The A340-600 will add 2,044 seats per week from Abu Dhabi to Mumbai, taking the total from 952 to 2,996 seats in each direction – just over triple the previous capacity.

On the Abu Dhabi – New Delhi route, the evening service has been increased to a 254-seat Airbus A330-200 aircraft, seating 18 guests in Business Class and 236 in Economy. This will add 1,778 seats per week to and from New Delhi, increasing from 952 seats to 2,730 in each direction – almost triple the previous capacity.

The Etihad Airways flight service will be marketed by Jet Airways as an extension of the airlines’ existing codeshare partnership.

James Hogan, president and chief executive officer of Etihad Airways, said: “India is a significant and growing market for us. These increases enable us to serve not only the local traffic demands between Abu Dhabi and India, but also to deliver much greater international connectivity for business and leisure guests. 

“Travelers from India will have more opportunities to connect with flights to destinations including Abu Dhabi, the GCC, Middle East, Africa, Europe and North America, while those flying to India will benefit from additional seats and more schedule options, providing greater travel flexibility.”