Etihad Airways is expanding its scheduled services between Abu Dhabi and India as strategic partner Jet Airways unveiled new routes and additional frequencies to further strengthen their partnership.

From early 2017, the two airlines will expand their services between the United Arab Emirates and India by adding 28 weekly flights and three further Indian cities.

These will enhance connections between India and the rest of the world though Etihad Airways’ Abu Dhabi hub, and complement Jet Airways’ non-stop services to other cities.

Etihad Airways currently operates 175 weekly flights between Abu Dhabi and 11 Indian cities.

Together, Etihad Airways and Jet Airways offer 252 weekly flights between Abu Dhabi and 15 cities across India.

With the newly-announced flights, the airlines’ cooperative services will cover 18 Indian cities with 280 flights each week.

Etihad Airways will launch a fourth daily flight between Abu Dhabi and Kozhikode on March 26th, 2017, capitalising on the strong traffic flows between the state of Kerala and the UAE, and beyond.

Etihad will also double its frequency between Abu Dhabi and Ahmedabad in the western state of Gujarat, from February 1st next year, with the launch of a new daily service subject to government approval.

Jet Airways recently announced a number of changes to its operations between India and Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates.

These include the launch of daily flights between Tiruchirappalli (Trichy), in the state of Tamil Nadu, and Abu Dhabi on February 1st, 2017.

Jet Airways will also introduce daily services from Kannur, the fourth Kerala gateway to Abu Dhabi.

It also plans daily services from the northern Indian city of Chandigarh to Abu Dhabi, which will benefit travellers to and from the state of Punjab.

The two routes are due to begin in the second half of 2017, subject to the completion of operational readiness at these airports.

From January 15th Jet Airways will introduce a second daily service between New Delhi and Abu Dhabi.

With Etihad Airways already operating three flights a day between the two capital cities, the enhanced operation will give guests a wider choice of departure times.

James Hogan, Etihad Aviation Group president, said: “Today’s announcement reflects how we have been working together to enhance our services to give the travelling public more and better choices by using each other’s networks.

“Our partnership with Jet Airways has gone from strength to strength. Sharing resources and reaching decisions together are key to our success.”