Emirates looking to expand operations in India

Hyderabad, March 16: Emirates is looking to expand its operations in India and is negotiating with the Indian government for more seats, a top company official said here on Wednesday.

The airline, which is operating one A380 aircraft on Mumbai-Dubai route, is also keen to operate more such flights but the official said this would depend on the outcome of the negotiations, approvals and the 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 A380.

"We have been given 2000 plus seats to operate from Mumbai in 2014 that gave us capability to operate A 380," he said.

He was optimistic about the outcome of talks for additional seats on Indian routes. "The bilateral talks are on a fast track after Indian prime minister's visit to UAE last year. We hope that we will have something very soon," he said.

Emirates currently has more than 73 A 380 aircrafts in service. "We bring the A 380 to show our commitment to Hyderabad air show as well. It is a strong flagship carrier for emirates and it is a beautiful product. Serving A 380 depends on market demand and also depends on the airport, how it is ready to handle such an aircraft," said Essa Sulaimaan Ahmad, VP India and Nepal said.

Essa said Emirates would run A 380 on commercially viable routes. He did not rule out Hyderabad for its operation looking back how Emirates has grown over the past couple of Years.

"We started as first major international operations from here started with 8 aircrafts now we have daily services with three 777 aircrafts," he added.

IANS