Kochi: Saudi Arabia's national carrier, Ethihad Airlines proposes to operate to eight new destinations in India, including Chennai, Hyderabad and Kozhikode, by next year.

The airlines has sought permission to fly to destinations including Jaipur, Ahmedabad and Amritsar and all the planned operations were subject to bilateral regulations, Ethihad Airways Acting Country Manager Neerja Bhatia told a press meet here.

Ethihad is presently operating seven flights a week to the UAE from Mumbai, Delhi, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram. It has plans to introduce one more flight from Kochi from January next. The airline is also planning to introduce A320 aircraft for Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram after which daily two flights would be operated from the two cities to UAE.

Ethihad's south India service has been performing exceptionally well within six months of its launch in May this year. More than 25,000 passengers have flown on the Kochi-Abu Dhabi and Thiruvananthapuram-Abu Dhabi route with an 86 per cent seats from Kochi and 77 per cent from Thiruvananthapuram, she said.

Currently, the airlines flies to 45 destinations in the Middle East, Europe, North America, Africa and Asia.

Source : PTI