On the back of the Indian aviation ministry increasing the number of seats on India- Abu Dhabi routes, more Gulf airlines are requesting more seats on their routes.
Doha, the hub for Qatar Airways has asked for extra 48,000 seats taking the tally to 72,600 seats. Air Arabia has asked for extra 11,500 seats a week from the present 18,816 seats for Sharjah route.
Dubai’s 54,200 seat capacity is consumed by Emirates and Fly Dubai. With neighbouring Gulf countries demanding more seats, Dubai is expected to ask for 25,000 more seats.
Emirates wants to operate A380s, with more seats, and links to new Indian cities of Pune, Jaipur and Amritsar, apart from increasing flights from the 10 cities it operates.
Flydubai wants to link to Varanasi, Amritsar, Mangalore, Jaipur and Nagpur. Emirates study shows that it would generate $363-million annual revenue from Indian sector and carry 6.16 million passengers from both countries.