India's Civil Aviation Minister hosts Emirates Chairman and Chief Executive

Also present the meeting were other high-ranking officials from the Indian government including: Mr. Sarad Pawar, Minister for Agriculture, Food & Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution; Mr. Murali Deora, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas; and Mr. V. Thulasidas, Air India's Chairman and Managing Director.

The group discussed various developments taking place in the aviation industry at the meeting.

Sheikh Ahmed and Emirates' top management who are in India to celebrate the launch of Emirates' new direct, non-stop service to Thiruvananthapuram, also thanked the Indian government for granting the airline additional traffic rights to operate to the country.

In Thiruvananthapuram yesterday, Emirates officially launched its new air service to Kerala's capital city with a media conference attended by over 100 reporters, and later that evening hosted over 250 trade and industry partners to a gala dinner celebration.

Thiruvananthapuram is Emirates' sixth Indian gateway, the others being Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Hyderabad and Cochin. Emirates has also strengthened its presence in South India with significant increases to two major Indian cities - Cochin and Chennai, effective 1st February.

The Dubai-based airline enhanced its services to Cochin from five to seven flights a week; and added four more flights to Chennai to serve the city eight times a week.

Sheikh Ahmed said: 'I would like to thank the Indian Government and the Ministry of Civil Aviation for their support. Emirates is delighted to increase its services to India - one of the airline's most important markets worldwide.'

He added: 'Emirates and India enjoy very strong relations right from 1985 when the airline launched its global operations with Mumbai and Delhi as its first online destinations. I am confident that our relationship with India will strengthen with time.'

Emirates' new service to Thiruvananthapuram will reinforce connections from the state of Kerala to the Middle East region via the airline's hub in Dubai. The airline's operations in the Middle East include 140 flights per week to 13 destinations.

This is expected to benefit Kerala's key industries, including Leisure and Medical Tourism, and Information Technology (IT) that will now have access to new markets and greater opportunities. The Dubai-based airline will also facilitate travel for Kerala's burgeoning Non-resident Indian(NRI) community, a majority of which reside in the Middle East and travel home each year.

Sheikh Ahmed added: 'Emirates will promote Thiruvananthapuram through its vast network of offices in the Middle East and help bring more leisure and business travellers to Kerala's chief tourist and business attraction. We also look forward to serving the city's travellers with Emirates' award-winning, superior product and service and providing them with more travel options to the Middle East.'

Emirates Holidays, the largest wholesale tour operator in the Gulf and Middle East will be promoting Kerala's key attractions in its World of Choice brochures. The brochures, over 500,000 in number, will be distributed through travel agents in the Middle East to thousands of potential travellers.

Tourist inflows are expected to increase as Emirates' service opens up Thiruvananthapuram to the affluent Middle East traveller. Currently the city is visited by 0.9 million tourists per year with a growth rate of 5.5 per cent per annum.

Emirates will operate eight flights per week to Thiruvananthapuram, using the modern Airbus A330-200 in a three-class configuration offering 237 seats and 17 tonnes of cargo-carrying capacity.

Emirates will also operate the larger-capacity Boeing 777-200 on the route in a two-class configuration offering 346 seats and 17 tonnes of belly-hold capacity. Both wide-bodied aircraft offer industry leading comforts including ergonomically designed seats, and personal entertainment systems in all classes.

Emirates SkyCargo's specialised products and services will facilitate the export of fresh vegetables, foodstuff, garments, textiles, coir products and handicrafts to various Middle East markets. It will also support the needs of Kerala's freight industry by facilitating the import of electronics, household consumer goods, computer parts and spares.