Air India, the national carrier of India from where more than a million of the Kingdom's expatriate workers come, will operate daily flights between Dammam and Riyadh to Cochin and Calicut in the southern Indian state of Kerala starting Sept. 7, said Deepak Anand, regional manager of the airlines. “The timing of the introduction of these flights has been chosen to coincide with the festivals of Eid Al-fitr and Onam,” said Anand. “The daily Airbus A320 flights will operate with a configuration of 20 Executive and 125 Economy class seats,” he said. With the addition of the 14 flights, Air India will operate 47 flights weekly up from the present 33 flights for an increase of 42.4 percent, Anand said. Anand, who took charge as Air India's regional manger for Saudi Arabia last month, said the airline is also focusing on expansion in the Western Province. “November will see new flights between Riyadh and Dammam to Hyderabad, Chennai and Delhi, respectively,” he said. Fifty-six additional flights will operate for Haj pilgrims from India, he added. Regarding the arrival of Jet Airways in the Kingdom in competition with Air India, Anand said he does not see any problem. “Air India will not be hurt as it is a direct operator between Saudi Arabia and India; however, other GCC carriers carrying Indian passengers by indirect flights through their airline hubs in the Gulf may be affected,” he said. “We welcome Jet Airways, or any other Indian carrier opening in the Gulf.” It was reported that Jet Airways will start daily flights between Mumbai, Delhi, Riyadh and Jeddah starting in October. According to the Hindu Business Line daily, the governments of India and Saudi Arabia have allowed more than one airline from each side to operate between the two countries, after the expiry of a 3-year moratorium imposed by the Indian government in 2004 which allowed only Air India and its subsidiaries to fly to Saudi Arabia. “The decision paved the way for Jet Airways to apply to the government for permission to operate in Saudi Arabia,” it said.Saudi Arabia is the second country after the U.A.E. to which Jet Airways has been permitted to fly in recent weeks. There are about 1.4 million expatriate Indians in Saudi Arabia and at least 1.4 million Indians across the Gulf. __
