Etihad Airways has launched a daily service between Abu Dhabi and Kolkata.
The new route marks the Gulf carrier's 11th destination to India, and its 15th when including network partner Jet Airways.
It is operating a two-cabin A320 aircraft on the route, with 16 seats in business class and 120 in economy.
Outbound service EY256 departs Abu Dhabi at 1110 and arrives at Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose airport at 1720 local time. Return flight EY255 leaves Kolkata at 1820 and lands in Abu Dhabi at 2230.
Etihad CCO Peter Baumgartner said: "We're delighted to add Kolkata, an economic powerhouse and Etihad Airways' first destination in north-eastern India, to our flight network.
"This new service will support the growing demand from air travellers who are keen to fly between West Bengal and the Middle East, Europe and North America via our Abu Dhabi home base."
The Kolkata service connects with Etihad destinations in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, and Toronto.
All Etihad passengers flying from Abu Dhabi to the United States now benefit from US immigration pre-clearance (see news, January 12).
Graham Smith
