Bahrain Air expands services to south India

Bahrain Air, the Gulf kingdom's second national carrier, has announced new flights to the south of India, with plans for more expansion in the Asian country. The airline has launched four flights a week to Trivandrum, with plans to increase to seven flights a week by the summer. The state of Kerala will constitute 80 percent of Bahrain Air capacity to India, with a total of 17 flights a week across Cochin, Calicut and Trivandrum. Captain Ibrahim Al Hamer, managing director of Bahrain Air, said: "The Indian Sub Continent remains a key focus area for Bahrain Air and Kerala continues to be a focal destination for us. "Currently there are about 350,000 Keralites in Bahrain and another 400,000 in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia." He added: "This new route to Trivandrum once again reiterates our commitment to improve our services and meet the needs of our customers within the region. "We are positive for the future and traffic rights permitting we will continue to increase flights to India as we take more aircraft in the future." Earlier on Tuesday, the CEO of Bahrain Air said he would be open to a merger with state-backed Gulf Air in a bid to enhance the carriers’ network of flights and overall operational efficiency. In an exclusive interview with Arabian Business, the head of the privately-held carrier Richard Nuttall said there was an urgent need to solve the problems that both loss-making airlines face, and that a deal between the two carriers had a lot of support in the country. “We are very open to merging with Gulf Air, and can see a number of synergies,” he said.