MANCHESTER – Etihad Airways has recognised some of its leading travel trade partners in southern India by hosting them on a familiarisation trip to watch Premier League soccer club Manchester City in action in England.
The visit to Manchester gave representatives of nine local agencies an opportunity to experience the airline’s award-winning service and hospitality from Cochin, Chennai, Kozhikode and Thiruvananthapuram to Abu Dhabi and onwards to northwest England.
The group took in the sights of Manchester and the surrounding area before enjoying a trip to the Etihad Stadium to watch home team Manchester City, sponsored by Etihad Airways, play a match against Southampton.
Sreeram Iyengar, Etihad Airways Regional Sales Manager South India, said Manchester was one of the airline’s key destinations for guests from southern India and that football was growing in popularity in the region.
“The trip was a big thank you to our most loyal travel trade partners for their ongoing support and commitment to selling Etihad Airways’ diverse global network,” he said, adding: “We have enjoyed a tremendous partnership with our agents over the years. Watching a match involving our sponsorship partner Manchester City was a fitting reward for their significant contribution to Etihad Airways.”
The travel agents who took part in the fam trip were: Thomas Mathai, of Riya Travels; Tariq Najeeb, Air Travel Enterprises; Dinesh Raveendran Nair, Kerala Travels; Dinesh Pai, TEK Travels; Hashik Rahman, Kurikkal Travels; Ganshyam Arora, International Travel House; Jevin Jesu, Mangalam Travels; Faizal Sharhabeel, Magellan Travel; and Hanumanthan Manjunath, Parry Travel.
Etihad Airways and strategic Indian partner Jet Airways currently operate 252 scheduled flights each week between 15 cities across India and Abu Dhabi, offering convenient onward connections to destinations in Europe, Middle East, Africa and The Americas.
Between southern India and the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, Etihad Airways and Jet Airways operate four-times-daily from Cochin and Chennai; thrice-daily from Kozhikode and Bengaluru; and twice-daily from Thiruvananthapuram.
About Etihad Aviation Group-
Etihad Aviation Group (EAG) is a diversified global aviation and travel group comprising four business divisions – Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, Etihad Airways Engineering, Hala Group and Airline Equity Partners. The group has minority investments in seven airlines: airberlin, Air Serbia, Air Seychelles, Alitalia, Jet Airways, Virgin Australia, and Swiss-based Darwin Airline, trading as Etihad Regional.
From its Abu Dhabi base, Etihad Airways flies to, or has announced plans to serve, more than 110 passenger and cargo destinations in the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Asia, Australia and the Americas. The airline has a fleet of over 120 Airbus and Boeing aircraft, with 204 aircraft on firm order, including 71 Boeing 787s, 25 Boeing 777Xs, 62 Airbus A350s and 10 Airbus A380s. For more information, please visit: etihad.com