Carriers to the Subcontinent yesterday unveiled their summer schedules coming into effect from March 31, with increased frequencies, route extensions and altered flight timings aimed at meeting passenger demand and convenience.

Indian Airlines and Pakistan International Airlines were two of the carriers to announce their revised schedules.

"Some changes - notably revisions in flight timings - will also go into effect, based on passenger feedback and their convenience, apart from allied factors such has high summer temperatures," explained K. Shyam Sundar, UAE manager, Indian Airlines.

He added the changes pertain mainly to the Dubai and Sharjah operations.

From Dubai, the carrier will start a new link to Chennai by extending its Hyderabad and Calicut routes, and change its timings on the Delhi-Jaipur route due to high summer temperatures, he said.

"From Sharjah, we increase our flight frequencies on the Trivandrum, Goa and Coimbatore sectors, and revise our flight timings on the Bangalore-Hyderabad and Hyderabad-Ahmedabad routes," he added.

The official explained there are no major changes on the carrier's flights out of Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah.

PIA's Dubai-Karachi flight time has meanwhile been shifted to 5.30 p.m. from 1 a.m.

The airline will operate six flights on its Dubai-Lahore sector including two on Thursday and Sunday at 2.45 p.m., three on Monday, Tuesday and Saturday at 1.15 a.m., and one on Wednesday at 3.15 a.m.

The arrival time from Peshawar has also been revised to 12 midnight from 2 a.m. "The decision has been taken on the demand of our passengers who were finding it difficult to travel late night," said a PIA spokesman.

Two of the total four weekly flights on the Dubai-Islamabad sector will be operated on Friday and Tuesday at 2 p.m. and 2.45 p.m. respectively.

PIA is also considering reinstating its flights on the Dubai-London, Dubai-Multan and Dubai-Faisalabad sectors, suspended after September 11.

The airline is also negotiating with Sharjah International Airport to restore its flights on the Quetta, Turbat and Gawader sectors to facilitate the large Baloch community in the UAE.

Airline officials had earlier stated the aftereffects of September 11 had largely been overcome by the industry, which had witnessed volumes reviving by November, and passenger flows coming back to normal this January.

They expected this summer to witness appreciably higher volumes than in 2001.