The Hindu Business Line : Cathay takes up `open sky' offer

THE Hong Kong-based Cathay Pacific Airways on Monday announced that it would be taking up the `open sky' offer of the Indian Government and operate three additional flights each from Delhi and Mumbai from November this year to March next year.

In addition to this, Cathay will operate a daily flight from both Mumbai and Delhi, it said in a statement here.

While the first additional flight from Delhi to Hong Kong starts operating from November 1, the airline will add more flights between Mumbai and Hong Kong from November 16.

The airline, at present, operates four flights a week from Mumbai and Delhi to Hong Kong.

Cathay Pacific joins a long list of international airlines, which are taking up the open sky offer of the Government.

The German airline, Lufthansa, has already announced that it would operate a daily flight on the Bangalore-Frankfurt sector while Kuwait Airways is to offer 200 seats a week on the Kuwait-Mumbai sector during the open sky period.

Similarly, Gulf Air will also be taking up the open sky offer of the Government.

The airlines General Manager, India, Mr John Anderson, told Business Line that the new schedule for the open sky period had been filed with the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).