Jet to fly from Mangalore to Dubai six days a week

India's premier private carrier Jet Airways will operate a daily flight from Jan 3, for six days in a week, from Mangalore in coastal Karnataka to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

"A Boeing 737-800 aircraft with 170 economy seats will fly six times a week to Dubai and back with warm service and delectable cuisine," the airline said in a statement here Friday.

The flight (9W532) will depart from Mangalore, about 350 km from here, at 8 p.m. and arrive at Dubai at 10.30 p.m. (local time) Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday. Departure Tuesday will be at 7.40 p.m. and arrival in Dubai at 10.10 p.m. (local time).

"The new service will provide a much-needed link between Karnataka's port city and Dubai, catering to the large number of Indians settled in the UAE," Jet chief commercial officer Sudeer Raghavan said in the statement.

On Friday, the flight will, however, take-off from Mangalore at 7 p.m. and land in Dubai at 9.30 p.m. (local time). Return flight will depart from Dubai at 10.30 p.m. and land in Mangalore at 3.30 a.m. Saturday.

"On the return leg, the flight (9W531) will depart from Dubai at 11.30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and arrive in Mangalore next day at 4.30 a.m.," Raghavan said.

The airline currently operates daily direct flight to Dubai from New Delhi and four services a day from Mumbai.

"The service, the first from a tier II Indian destination to the Gulf, will strengthen our presence in the Gulf, where it has emerged as one of the leading carriers," Raghavan added.

The additional service from Mangalore will complement the airline's Gulf operations to Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Dubai, Doha, Kuwait, Muscat and Sharjah, as well as to Jeddah, Riyadh and Dammam in Saudi Arabia from several cities in India.

The largest private carrier operates a fleet of 100 aircraft, including 10 Boeing 777-300, 11 Airbus A300-200, one A300-300, Boeing 777-700/800/900 and 19 ATR 72-500 turbo-prop aircraft.