Etihad re-connects with Kolkata; Vistara announces flights to Mauritius

Etihad Airways, the national carrier of the UAE, has relaunched flights to India’s Kolkata. With a total of seven weekly nonstop services, the airline will once again connect India’s financial capital, Kolkata, with the world through Abu Dhabi. The first flight on the new service, EY256, departed Abu Dhabi with a full load of passengers at 1:50pm local time on 26 March and touched down at Kolkata’s Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Airport last night at 8:10pm local time. Upon arrival in Kolkata, passengers were welcomed with a cake cutting ceremony and a celebration attended by Etihad and Kolkata Airport Executives. The return flight, EY257, departed Kolkata at 9:05pm local time on 26 March, landing in Abu Dhabi shortly after midnight. Arik De, Chief Revenue Officer, said, Etihad Airways, said: “Riding on the resurgence of outbound travel from India, we’re delighted to resume daily flights to Kolkata, a key cultural and commercial hub in the Indian subcontinent. Re-establishing this vital air link with East India will support the growing demand from travelers in and around the region, offering them easy access to Abu Dhabi and connectivity to our global network alongside a world-class flying experience. We have been very impressed with our initial demand, which reaffirms our strategy to return to this key market.” The flights will be operated with an Airbus A320 aircraft, offering Etihad’s award-winning service to guests in 8 seats in Business Class and 150 in Economy, convenient flight timings to the UAE’s capital city and seamless connections to destinations across the airline’s growing global network of 67 destinations. Vistara announces flights to Mauritius Vistara announced it has started direct, five weekly flights between Mumbai and Mauritius. Mauritius is the 15th international destination, and the first in Africa, that Vistara has added to its growing network. The airline has deployed its recently inducted A321LR aircraft with a three-class configuration, as it becomes the only carrier to offer customers the choice of Premium Economy cabin in addition to Business and Economy Class, on this route. Vinod Kannan, Chief Executive Officer, Vistara, said, “We are delighted to take India’s finest airline to Africa, as we launch operations to Mauritius. The long-standing relations and strong trade ties between the two countries, in addition to the growing tourism potential of the destination, make it a perfect fit in our network. We are confident that customers will appreciate having the option of experiencing Vistara’s award-winning product and services on this sector.” Vistara will accept all eligible customers meeting visa/entry requirements in both countries, as specified by the respective government bodies. Vistara strongly encourages its customers to fully understand these guidelines before making their bookings. For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Matt Driskill at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Head of Sales Kay Rolland at [email protected]