Kingfisher Airlines, which is due to launch its services to Dubai starting June 25, plans to connect to the UAE from a number of cities in India during the course of the year, according to a senior airline executive. The India-based carrier, which was originally scheduled to launch the Bangalore-Dubai route on March 7, deferred it given the slowdown in air travel and declining airfares. A daily Bangalore-Dubai service later this month would be followed by a direct flight from Bangaluru to Abu Dhabi soon after, said Siva Ramachandran, Kingfisher Airlines' Vice-President for Global Sales.
He said the airline is currently evaluating options for connecting Dubai with at least three more Indian cities — Delhi, Thiruvananthapuram and Hyderabad, despite economic crisis. "All these services to Dubai will start this year itself. Meanwhile, we also may look to connect Thiruvananthapuram with Abu Dhabi following that," Ramachandran said.Kingfisher Airlines' move comes close on the heels of arch rival Jet Airways' plans of launching four new Indian routes from Dubai in the next two months.
Jet Airways, which launched operations to the UAE last year with daily direct flights to Abu Dhabi in April, followed by Dubai in August, recently said it is planning to launch flights to Indian cities of Hyderabad, Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram and Mangalore. Regarding the expansion within the Middle East, Kingfisher Airlines is weighing options for launching flights to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait this year, said Ramachandran. "It is possible that we will start flights to Riyadh in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait this year itself, as part of our expansion plan for the Middle East. We are currently evaluating options for the same," he said.
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