The move is in line with a joint venture agreement signed by the two airlines in April of last year and follows the successful launch of joint cargo flights to Chennai.

Flight CV6102 leaves Luxembourg on Tuesdays at 12.25am and is routed via Bahrain where it arrives at 8.05pm (all times local times). Leaving Bahrain at 10.05pm the flight's arrival in Mumbai is scheduled for 4.05am on Wednesdays. The return flight CV6113 leaves Mumbai on Wednesday mornings at 6.05am and arrives in Muscat at 7am before continuing to Luxembourg where it arrives at 12.40pm.

The second service CV6105 leaves Luxembourg on Fridays at 2.15pm and is routed via Kuwait where it arrives at 10pm. Leaving at 11.30pm it arrives in Mumbai on Saturdays at 5.40am and goes on to Muscat at 8am as CV6116. Arrival in Muscat is set for 8.55am and the flight arrives back in Luxembourg on Saturdays at 14.35pm.

Abdulrahman al Busaidy chief operating officer of Oman Air said 'We are pleased to announce that Oman Air and Cargolux will offer a new twice-weekly cargo service between Luxembourg and Mumbai starting from March 8. The new service builds on the success of the second frequency to Chennai that we launched together in August last year. The new service will enable us to further strengthen our presence within the Indian market.

'Our product advantages include the carriage of project cargo livestock cargo aircraft-only freight odd size cargo vehicles and aircraft engines.

'And importantly the new service will make an even greater contribution to the development of Oman as a global cargo hub. The sultanate's geographical location and superb infrastructure together with the partnership between Oman Air and Cargolux ensure that it is rapidly becoming the first choice for transportation of cargo between India the Middle East and Europe.'

The new flights underline Oman Air's and Cargolux's leading role as providers of high-quality air cargo service into India. 'We are happy to see our successful cooperation extend further' adds Niek van der Weide Cargolux executive VP Sales & Marketing. 'Customers in Europe as well as in Oman have welcomed our service to India and can now enjoy our proven reliability and dedication to excellence in an even widermarket.'