Ladies and gentlemen welcome aboard

Travelling by air from the UAE to Indian destinations is easier than and more frequent than some of the internal routes on the subcontinent. And often even less costly.
The latest to join the fray this week is Indigo, the no-frills carrier from India which has added its might to the Abu Dhabi to Mumbai and Delhi routes and upped the number of flights between India and the UAE.
The most powerful plank in the aviation bridge is the success of all classes of travel, from the luxury of Emirates and Etihad first class and business class to the low-cost carriers offering flights at reasonable hours including red-eye prices.
The 2018 figures indicate that UAE carriers are ferrying to and from at practically maximum capacity while Indian carriers fluctuate between 85 per cent and 90 per cent but on both sides are flying smoothly in the black.
With this sort of influx of passengers, there is a need to take a fresh look at the capacity per se and renegotiate for more than the roughly 140,000 seats per week at present and in the bargain naturally up the over 1,100 flights by creating more slots on both sides.
With its commercial state-of-the-art airports and even a dedicated business jet facility, the UAE is on the cutting edge of technology. India's 22 international airports offer even more scope on these milk and honey routes where the surge in traffic is constant and the offseason also offers better than break-even load factor.
Even as airlines like Air India, Air India Express, Spice Jet and Indigo vie for loyalists and add numbers through tourism and the multiple seasonal events in the UAE like the shopping festivals and hugely reasonable hotel rates with perfect weather conditions, the trendsetting airlines of the UAE create their own brand attraction.
Emirates and Etihad provide world-class service and are ably backed by FlyDubai and Air Arabia at the upper end of the no-frill spectrum with FlyDubai even offering biz class options. ICE systems on board economy have been a major draw for even blue collars and continue to be so. UAE carriers offer Indian-oriented food and films, and at Indian airports, the Emirates check-in counters are almost always full.
There is still scope for more. Once the new Indian government settles down, it is pretty much on the cards that it will fast track the UAE call for an across the board renegotiation of the aviation ties between the two countries.
The current 1,100 odd flights a week with a roughly 140,000 seat components has the capacity for far more as many of India's 22 international airports begin to look for a role in the milk and honey routes to the Gulf countries.
Some of the less advertised factors that have impacted positively on the ongoing surge in traffic going well past break even during to so-called off-season include medical tourism, an area where the UAE is becoming swiftly competitive.
Then there is the MICE factor. With a superb infrastructure and a hospitality industry that offers sun, sand, seas, shopping, safety, security and sport and is probably the best in the world, the UAE can easily double its current 400 odd high powered events annually as it plans to increase its stayover potential by another 150 hotels. Conventions, conferences and trade and commerce events abound, and India plays a big role in most of them.
The farsightedness to widen the net after a relative slowing down in labour numbers is now paying dividends. Students at the various UAE hubs now allowed the benediction of even the boys being permitted residency after age 18 has added to the to and from travel numbers.
One other factor that often gets overlooked is that of the transit element in the UAE. Its airports and its intermodal efficiency combined with the ideal geographical positioning between east and west makes for a very attractive stopover in the Emirates before proceeding to the west and exactly the same benefit when going east.
The UAE, in a thorough appreciation of the new high in relationship with India, has already loosened the visa rules, and now Indians with a US visa can cheerfully get on board without advance application.
It is not just in the air but also on the corporate boardroom level that the two nations can work out deals to invest in Indian carriers. India's stranded jet fleet in which Etihad had shown interest in reinvesting in a carrier in which it held a minor stake but thought worth rescuing.
If the past five years have indicated a spike in the relationship, it is a fair bet that the next five will be even more lucrative and mutually satisfying.