Jet Airways and Etihad have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to help promote tourism to Maharashtra.

A new partnership with the Indian state’s government will see the two airlines pool their marketing resources with Maharashtra’s tourism authorities. This will see the three parties jointly participate in travel trade events in major international markets such as the UK and the UAE, jointly promote ‘Destination Maharashtra’ through advertising campaigns, and organise inbound fam trips for media and travel agents.

Home to an estimated 112 million people, Maharashtra is India’s third largest state and one of the country’s most-visited destinations. Jet and Etihad operate a combined total of five daily flights between Abu Dhabi and Mumbai, Maharashtra’s main international gateway, while Jet also flies daily between Abu Dhabi and Maharashtra’s second largest city, Pune.

“We are honoured to welcome this opportunity to strengthen our cooperation with Etihad Airways and Jet Airways,” said Shri Jaykumar Rawal, Maharashtra’s Minister of Tourism. “This MoU is the beginning of a strategic partnership with two leading and most important international airlines to attract as many international tourists as possible.

“Our aim is to jointly put in place the best strategies and practices to increase Maharashtra’s marketing footprint and position it as the most preferred destination,” he added.

James Hogan, Etihad Aviation Group’s president & CEO, commented; “This agreement represents the first time a state government has ventured into such a tourism partnership with the airline industry, hence we appreciate the opportunity to work with our strategic Indian partner Jet Airways on this breakthrough agreement. Our combined operation with Jet Airways between Abu Dhabi and Mumbai, complemented by Jet’s widespread domestic services, is further testament to the importance of Maharashtra on our route map.”

Jet began operating from Mumbai in 1993, and the Maharashtra city was also the first Indian hub to be served by Etihad in 2004.