This growth has been achieved through the integration of operational efficiencies network planning, strategic code shares, marketing initiatives and on-time performance, all of which has helped the airline stay a step ahead, said Nikos Kardassis, CEO, Jet Airways.

JetLite, the wholly owned subsidiary of Jet Airways India Ltd, has also posted good seat factors of 85.3 per cent carrying over 4.02 lakh passengers in the month of May 2010. JetLite’s code share with Jet Airways has enabled the airline to enhance its penetration of the travelling market.

According to Nikos Kardassis, CEO, Jet Airways, “A record breaking eight months of consecutive growth ratifies the fact that Jet Airways has been able to capitalise on the upswing in domestic and global air traffic. This is largely due to the effective network planning and strategic marketing initiatives implemented in the past year which have enabled us to stay a step ahead of the growth curve in the Indian aviation sector. Our enhanced domestic and international network capabilities, coupled with strategic code-shares, have further helped us deliver seamless travel solutions to our discerning guests. Most importantly, the unwavering dedication and commitment displayed by the Jet Airways team has played a decisive role in Jet Airways consolidating its leadership position. A marked increase in demand for our premiere segment and growing popularity of the recently launched Konnect Select offering, further exemplifies our understanding of the dynamic needs of the Indian consumer.”

News Source – travelbizmonitor.com

Jet Airways saw the best month ever for flights to India from the UK in March 2010, with seven months of consecutive growth since October 2009. The airline has been sustaining its seat factor for its international operations at over 75% reflecting continued high demand for Jet Airways’ award-winning product. Despite the turbulent economic climate, the carrier has continued to woo business guests onboard with ultra-high levels of service, making improvements in business class such as becoming the first airline to offer complimentary Dom Perignon Champagne.

The Indian market leader is now predicting that demand for business travel and front end traffic will help drive Jet Airways’ expansion in Europe.

Key priorities for 2010 for Jet include increasing expanding connectivity in the Middle East to match demand. A new daily flight to Doha, Qatar, from Delhi started in January 2010. Jet’s first daily direct service from Mumbai to Johannesburg launched on 14 April 2010, in time for the World Cup.

Dubai carrier loses $11 million a day in lost business and passenger accommodation, as volcano creates chaos.

Carrier has 20 per cent of its fleet grounded. Cancellation and accommodation costs running into millions for other global airlines. (SUPPLIED)

Emirates has so far incurred a total loss of $50 million (Dh183.5m) in revenues as a result of the flights disruptions caused by volcanic ash cloud from Iceland’s Eyjafjoell volcano that erupted on Wednesday last week.

“For Emirates, it has been a $50m loss of income so far over a period of five days by the way of losing $10m a day. In addition, we have lost another $5m (per day loss of $1m) in terms of accommodating the stranded passengers in Dubai hotels,” Tim Clark, President, Emirates airline, told Emirates Business. “These are losses which are coming straight out of our own pocket.”

The airline said it is providing accommodation for approximately 6,000 passengers who were in transit when the disruption began, and that, to date, over 80,000 passengers have been impacted by the ongoing disruption. Clark added that the airline has cancelled operations to all its UK and European routes due to the ongoing issue with the “exception of some”.

“We estimate it will take around 24 hours to get flight schedules back to normal,” said Clark, adding that the airline is not accepting passengers for travel to any European destinations excluding Moscow, Athens, Larnaca, Malta and Istanbul until April 20.

He further said that Emirates has had to ground 20 per cent of its fleet, with 30 planes on the ground as of now.

“We, along with the heads of other European carriers, are possibly seeking some relief and relaxation in terms of the shutdown of airspace. It does not have to be a complete shutdown,” Clark told Emirates Business. Meanwhile, the impact of the volcanic eruptions is being felt by almost all the Gulf carriers serving the UK and European destinations.

These include Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, Oman Air and Gulf Air – they have all had to bear consequences, including economic, from the shutdown of UK and European airspace.

Flight restrictions have been extended in most parts of Europe until today and weather forecast predicts that the ash cloud could remain for many more days, leaving many airlines across the globe in a quandary.

Etihad Airways

Etihad Airways said yesterday its flight cancellations remain in place to the UK, Ireland, Belarus and the majority of its European destinations until further notice, due to the spread of volcanic ash cloud. The Abu Dhabi-based carrier also said that it has reinstated services to Moscow as of yesterday afternoon and that Moscow services will return to their normal operating schedule from today. The airline’s spokesperson told Emirates Business that about 2,500 passengers were stranded in the region and that their staying expenses were taken care of by the airline. However, the spokesperson denied to comment on the total loss that the airline had to incur due to this.

Oman Air

The flagship airline of Oman avowed that several Europe-bound passengers were stranded in the region. “We fly to London, Munich, Frankfurt and Paris. These flights have all been cancelled since the closure of European airspace. We have a few hundred passengers bound for Europe stranded in the region,” said the airline spokesperson. When asked about losses, he said: “It is currently too early to make a proper assessment on the losses incurred.”

Gulf Air

The Bahrain-based airline, too, cancelled its flights to the European subcontinent. The company’s websites stated it is monitoring the situation in the Europe. The carrier said in a statement the volcanic ash plume over European airspace has lead to the cancellation of its flights to and from London, Paris and Frankfurt. Around 32 flights have been affected since April 15, when these airports were declared closed, Gulf Air said. According to the company’s website, travellers can rebook their seats. “Passengers holding confirmed tickets on disrupted flights can also claim full or partial refund. No cancellation, refund, service charges, fees or penalties will be imposed,” the website stated.

Qatar Airways

Passengers flying in Qatar Airways remained stranded not just in the Middle East but also in India. While an e-mail sent to Qatar Airways about the current status of the situation went unanswered, the Doha-based carrier said earlier it has cancelled more than 40 flights scheduled for Friday and Saturday to and from European destinations. Affected destinations include Berlin, Copenhagen, London, Manchester, Munich, Paris and Stockholm.

Global scene

Flights from the Asia too were cancelled. Asian airline, cancelled flights and accommodation costs are running into millions of dollars for the airline. “If this continues, there will be an impact on the earnings of all big carriers,” Dow Jones quoted an officer from Asia.

Australian carrier Qantas, which uses Singapore as one of its major hubs for Europe-bound flights, has offered stranded passengers at Asian ports the opportunity to take flights back to Australia. It says about 10,000 passengers have in total been affected by cancellations. A spokeswoman for Qantas said it has about 1,000 passengers stranded in Singapore, with many now taking up the offer to return to Australia, DJ reported. Singapore Airlines, one of the biggest carriers in the world, said it has been unable to move many of its stranded passengers due to limited capacity on alternative routes. Singapore Airlines spokesperson Nicholas Ionides said the carrier has been cancelling around 20 flights to and from Europe daily, since the problem began.

“At this point, Rome and Athens airports are open to us,” said Ionides. “We have put all stranded passengers in hotels – we can’t put extra flights to open airports mainly because those airports have imposed restrictions and they are not accepting more flights.”

China Airlines, Taiwan’s largest airline by revenue, spent at least NT$5 million on chartering buses and a ferry to move passengers in Europe, a company’s public relation officer was quoted by DJ.

China Airlines, which operates flights to five destinations in Europe, diverted one London-bound flight on Thursday to Frankfurt, and chartered buses to transport the nearly 300 passengers to Paris from Frankfurt, and from Paris to London by ferry, the official who declined to be named, said.

Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau said currently there are 1,455 Taiwanese passengers in Europe awaiting return flights, but all tour groups leaving after Friday have already cancelled their flights. Mid-April is the beginning of the peak travel season to Europe, according to the bureau.

China Airlines and smaller rival EVA Airways posted on their websites that they have cancelled another 19 flights on Sunday and Monday to and from Europe, including connecting flights.

India’s Jet Airways said it will soon start routing some of its flights to the US and Canada via Athens. A spokeswoman for Jet said the airline has received permission from government authorities in the European Union and India to use Athens as a temporary transit point until London Heathrow and Brussels airports re-open.

A spokesman for another Indian carrier, Air India, also said that the airline is planning to fly to the US via alternative routes. Among other airlines, Cathay Pacific has now cancelled all its European flights to and from Hong Kong for Sunday, Monday and some flights even for Tuesday, with exception of those to Rome. Another 16 flights scheduled from Thursday to Sunday have been further delayed until at least Tuesday, it said. Flag carrier Air China said it has cancelled nine flights to Europe from Beijing and two from Shanghai that were scheduled for Sunday, a Dow Jones Newswires report said.

Revenue loss

International Air Transport Association or IATA on Sunday said in a recent statement that Airlines worldwide were losing at least $200m per day in revenue. “The estimate is conservative and does not include costs such as rerouting planes or caring for stranded passengers. Airlines worldwide will lose a collective $2.8bn in 2010 after an estimated $9.8bn cumulative loss last year, IATA had predicted last month.

Meanwhile, the Sydney-based Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation or Capa, gave a bigger estimate than IATA for lost industry revenue, saying a third day of disruptions could total $1bn, Capa’s Chief Operating Officer, Derek Sadubin was quoted by Bloomberg as saying this.

He said: “The lost revenue for the industry could be in the hundreds of millions, possibly as high as $1bn.” He added that some six million passengers would be affected if the shutdown of European airports continues. “It will take days to restore schedules, even if the scare is called off today,” stated Bloomberg, quoting Capa’s recent report.

Ash cloud brings in the cash for UAE hotels

Bindu Suresh Rai

As the volcanic ash cloud continues to create havoc, the biggest casualty in this disaster is the opening of the Armani Hotel Dubai, which has been delayed again with flights being grounded across Europe.

In a statement to Emirates Business, a spokesperson from Armani Hotel said: “Due to the unforeseen closure of European Aerospace and the subsequent cancellation of international flights, the much anticipated grand opening of Armani Hotel Dubai has been postponed from April 21 to April 27.”

It has been learned that designer, Giorgio Armani, along with a lieu of celebrities, were stranded in Europe, prompting local partners Emaar Properties to delay the opening of the Burj Khalifa property by six days.

However, a silver lining has emerged for the UAE’s hospitality industry at large, which is seeing 100 per cent occupancy levels in some cases as hotels struggle to accommodate air passengers stranded in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Premier Inn is running at full occupancy across all three properties, as the budget chain takes in passengers from Emirates airline, which it partners with.

Similarly, hospitality giants Jumeirah Group, Rotana, Rezidor and the InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG) are also witnessing a surge in room bookings.

“We are completely booked across all three properties, however, the situation updates every 24 hours,” Darroch Crawford, Managing Director for Premier Inn Middle East, told Emirates Business. “However, there is no doubt hotels are taking advantage of the situation through rates, bookings and their F&B outlets.”

Similarly, Al Bustan Rotana Hotel is enjoying a 94 per cent occupancy. Helena Al Sayed, Director of Marketing and Communications for the hotel, said: “We are running at 94 per cent occupancy, with almost 30 per cent of that being passengers that have been stranded at the airport and those who have extended their stay due to their flights being cancelled.” Meanwhile, IHG sales teams have approached airlines to take in passengers.

Christian Pertl, Director of Sales and Marketing, IHG Dubai Festival City, said: “Our sales force proactively contacted all the major airlines to offer as much support as possible – this included calls to Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France and Emirates. We accommodated as many rooms as we could offer.”

However, Pertl added that they did not notice a definite surge in occupancy as their existing properties, InterContinental Dubai Festival City and the Crowne Plaza Hotel, were already at near capacity.

While some hotels had to turn away passengers because they were full, a spokesperson from Jumeirah Group said: “We have been able to accommodate all our guests that have been affected within Jumeirah Hotels.”

Hotels in the capital were also enjoying the boom, with Rezidor Group’s Park Inn and Radisson Blu Abu Dhabi, Yas Island, completely booked out.

Torbjorn Bodin, General Manager Radisson Blu Hotel, Abu Dhabi Yas Island, said: “Both our properties here are fully occupied, with the make-up of the residents being largely those that were in-house guests before the flight situation arose and are now unable to leave for Europe.”

Source – news.oneindia.in

Jet Airways, Air India to resume flights from midnight

Mumbai, Apr 18 (ANI): The director-general of civil aviation on Sunday gave “go ahead”to Jet Airways and Air India to resume their flights to and from the US and Canada via Athens in Greece from Monday.

According to the Jet Airways, the chosen route would avoid the volcanic ash that is currently affecting European airspace.

The airline also plans to resume flights to London and Brussels as soon as London Heathrow and Brussels airports re-open.

As a goodwill gesture, in case of cancellation or rescheduling of passengers’ travel plans, Jet Airways has decided to waive off all penalties.

Meanwhile, the national carrier, Air India, has decided to resume its flight to the US from Monday.

The airline will operate its non-stop Boeing 777-200 LR flights, on the Mumbai-New York-Mumbai and Delhi-New York-Delhi sectors.

However, these flights will operate through alternative routes, in view of closure of the European Airspace.

As there is a backlog of passengers due to flight cancellations over the past few days, passengers are advised to contact Air India before proceeding to the Airport.

The call centre numbers from India are: 1800 22 77 22, 0124 2877 777; from USA – 1800 223 7776. (ANI)

Emirates loses $50m in income to volcanic ash

Dubai carrier loses $11 million a day in lost business and passenger accommodation, as volcano creates chaos.

By

• Shweta Jain and Sachin Dave

Published Monday, April 19, 2010

Carrier has 20 per cent of its fleet grounded. Cancellation and accommodation costs running into millions for other global airlines. (SUPPLIED)

Emirates has so far incurred a total loss of $50 million (Dh183.5m) in revenues as a result of the flights disruptions caused by volcanic ash cloud from Iceland’s Eyjafjoell volcano that erupted on Wednesday last week.

“For Emirates, it has been a $50m loss of income so far over a period of five days by the way of losing $10m a day. In addition, we have lost another $5m (per day loss of $1m) in terms of accommodating the stranded passengers in Dubai hotels,” Tim Clark, President, Emirates airline, told Emirates Business. “These are losses which are coming straight out of our own pocket.”

The airline said it is providing accommodation for approximately 6,000 passengers who were in transit when the disruption began, and that, to date, over 80,000 passengers have been impacted by the ongoing disruption. Clark added that the airline has cancelled operations to all its UK and European routes due to the ongoing issue with the “exception of some”.

“We estimate it will take around 24 hours to get flight schedules back to normal,” said Clark, adding that the airline is not accepting passengers for travel to any European destinations excluding Moscow, Athens, Larnaca, Malta and Istanbul until April 20.

He further said that Emirates has had to ground 20 per cent of its fleet, with 30 planes on the ground as of now.

“We, along with the heads of other European carriers, are possibly seeking some relief and relaxation in terms of the shutdown of airspace. It does not have to be a complete shutdown,” Clark told Emirates Business. Meanwhile, the impact of the volcanic eruptions is being felt by almost all the Gulf carriers serving the UK and European destinations.

These include Etihad Airways, Qatar Airways, Oman Air and Gulf Air – they have all had to bear consequences, including economic, from the shutdown of UK and European airspace.

Flight restrictions have been extended in most parts of Europe until today and weather forecast predicts that the ash cloud could remain for many more days, leaving many airlines across the globe in a quandary.

Etihad Airways

Etihad Airways said yesterday its flight cancellations remain in place to the UK, Ireland, Belarus and the majority of its European destinations until further notice, due to the spread of volcanic ash cloud. The Abu Dhabi-based carrier also said that it has reinstated services to Moscow as of yesterday afternoon and that Moscow services will return to their normal operating schedule from today. The airline’s spokesperson told Emirates Business that about 2,500 passengers were stranded in the region and that their staying expenses were taken care of by the airline. However, the spokesperson denied to comment on the total loss that the airline had to incur due to this.

Oman Air

The flagship airline of Oman avowed that several Europe-bound passengers were stranded in the region. “We fly to London, Munich, Frankfurt and Paris. These flights have all been cancelled since the closure of European airspace. We have a few hundred passengers bound for Europe stranded in the region,” said the airline spokesperson. When asked about losses, he said: “It is currently too early to make a proper assessment on the losses incurred.”

Gulf Air

The Bahrain-based airline, too, cancelled its flights to the European subcontinent. The company’s websites stated it is monitoring the situation in the Europe. The carrier said in a statement the volcanic ash plume over European airspace has lead to the cancellation of its flights to and from London, Paris and Frankfurt. Around 32 flights have been affected since April 15, when these airports were declared closed, Gulf Air said. According to the company’s website, travellers can rebook their seats. “Passengers holding confirmed tickets on disrupted flights can also claim full or partial refund. No cancellation, refund, service charges, fees or penalties will be imposed,” the website stated.

Qatar Airways

Passengers flying in Qatar Airways remained stranded not just in the Middle East but also in India. While an e-mail sent to Qatar Airways about the current status of the situation went unanswered, the Doha-based carrier said earlier it has cancelled more than 40 flights scheduled for Friday and Saturday to and from European destinations. Affected destinations include Berlin, Copenhagen, London, Manchester, Munich, Paris and Stockholm.

Global scene

Flights from the Asia too were cancelled. Asian airline, cancelled flights and accommodation costs are running into millions of dollars for the airline. “If this continues, there will be an impact on the earnings of all big carriers,” Dow Jones quoted an officer from Asia.

Australian carrier Qantas, which uses Singapore as one of its major hubs for Europe-bound flights, has offered stranded passengers at Asian ports the opportunity to take flights back to Australia. It says about 10,000 passengers have in total been affected by cancellations. A spokeswoman for Qantas said it has about 1,000 passengers stranded in Singapore, with many now taking up the offer to return to Australia, DJ reported. Singapore Airlines, one of the biggest carriers in the world, said it has been unable to move many of its stranded passengers due to limited capacity on alternative routes. Singapore Airlines spokesperson Nicholas Ionides said the carrier has been cancelling around 20 flights to and from Europe daily, since the problem began.

“At this point, Rome and Athens airports are open to us,” said Ionides. “We have put all stranded passengers in hotels – we can’t put extra flights to open airports mainly because those airports have imposed restrictions and they are not accepting more flights.”

China Airlines, Taiwan’s largest airline by revenue, spent at least NT$5 million on chartering buses and a ferry to move passengers in Europe, a company’s public relation officer was quoted by DJ.

China Airlines, which operates flights to five destinations in Europe, diverted one London-bound flight on Thursday to Frankfurt, and chartered buses to transport the nearly 300 passengers to Paris from Frankfurt, and from Paris to London by ferry, the official who declined to be named, said.

Taiwan’s Tourism Bureau said currently there are 1,455 Taiwanese passengers in Europe awaiting return flights, but all tour groups leaving after Friday have already cancelled their flights. Mid-April is the beginning of the peak travel season to Europe, according to the bureau.

China Airlines and smaller rival EVA Airways posted on their websites that they have cancelled another 19 flights on Sunday and Monday to and from Europe, including connecting flights.

India’s Jet Airways said it will soon start routing some of its flights to the US and Canada via Athens. A spokeswoman for Jet said the airline has received permission from government authorities in the European Union and India to use Athens as a temporary transit point until London Heathrow and Brussels airports re-open.

A spokesman for another Indian carrier, Air India, also said that the airline is planning to fly to the US via alternative routes. Among other airlines, Cathay Pacific has now cancelled all its European flights to and from Hong Kong for Sunday, Monday and some flights even for Tuesday, with exception of those to Rome. Another 16 flights scheduled from Thursday to Sunday have been further delayed until at least Tuesday, it said. Flag carrier Air China said it has cancelled nine flights to Europe from Beijing and two from Shanghai that were scheduled for Sunday, a Dow Jones Newswires report said.

Revenue loss

International Air Transport Association or IATA on Sunday said in a recent statement that Airlines worldwide were losing at least $200m per day in revenue. “The estimate is conservative and does not include costs such as rerouting planes or caring for stranded passengers. Airlines worldwide will lose a collective $2.8bn in 2010 after an estimated $9.8bn cumulative loss last year, IATA had predicted last month.

Meanwhile, the Sydney-based Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation or Capa, gave a bigger estimate than IATA for lost industry revenue, saying a third day of disruptions could total $1bn, Capa’s Chief Operating Officer, Derek Sadubin was quoted by Bloomberg as saying this.

He said: “The lost revenue for the industry could be in the hundreds of millions, possibly as high as $1bn.” He added that some six million passengers would be affected if the shutdown of European airports continues. “It will take days to restore schedules, even if the scare is called off today,” stated Bloomberg, quoting Capa’s recent report.

Ash cloud brings in the cash for UAE hotels

Bindu Suresh Rai

As the volcanic ash cloud continues to create havoc, the biggest casualty in this disaster is the opening of the Armani Hotel Dubai, which has been delayed again with flights being grounded across Europe.

In a statement to Emirates Business, a spokesperson from Armani Hotel said: “Due to the unforeseen closure of European Aerospace and the subsequent cancellation of international flights, the much anticipated grand opening of Armani Hotel Dubai has been postponed from April 21 to April 27.”

It has been learned that designer, Giorgio Armani, along with a lieu of celebrities, were stranded in Europe, prompting local partners Emaar Properties to delay the opening of the Burj Khalifa property by six days.

However, a silver lining has emerged for the UAE’s hospitality industry at large, which is seeing 100 per cent occupancy levels in some cases as hotels struggle to accommodate air passengers stranded in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Premier Inn is running at full occupancy across all three properties, as the budget chain takes in passengers from Emirates airline, which it partners with.

Similarly, hospitality giants Jumeirah Group, Rotana, Rezidor and the InterContinental Hotel Group (IHG) are also witnessing a surge in room bookings.

“We are completely booked across all three properties, however, the situation updates every 24 hours,” Darroch Crawford, Managing Director for Premier Inn Middle East, told Emirates Business. “However, there is no doubt hotels are taking advantage of the situation through rates, bookings and their F&B outlets.”

Similarly, Al Bustan Rotana Hotel is enjoying a 94 per cent occupancy. Helena Al Sayed, Director of Marketing and Communications for the hotel, said: “We are running at 94 per cent occupancy, with almost 30 per cent of that being passengers that have been stranded at the airport and those who have extended their stay due to their flights being cancelled.” Meanwhile, IHG sales teams have approached airlines to take in passengers.

Christian Pertl, Director of Sales and Marketing, IHG Dubai Festival City, said: “Our sales force proactively contacted all the major airlines to offer as much support as possible – this included calls to Virgin Atlantic, British Airways, Lufthansa, Air France and Emirates. We accommodated as many rooms as we could offer.”

However, Pertl added that they did not notice a definite surge in occupancy as their existing properties, InterContinental Dubai Festival City and the Crowne Plaza Hotel, were already at near capacity.

While some hotels had to turn away passengers because they were full, a spokesperson from Jumeirah Group said: “We have been able to accommodate all our guests that have been affected within Jumeirah Hotels.”

Hotels in the capital were also enjoying the boom, with Rezidor Group’s Park Inn and Radisson Blu Abu Dhabi, Yas Island, completely booked out.

Torbjorn Bodin, General Manager Radisson Blu Hotel, Abu Dhabi Yas Island, said: “Both our properties here are fully occupied, with the make-up of the residents being largely those that were in-house guests before the flight situation arose and are now unable to leave for Europe.”

The service will be the first by a private airline between India and South Africa. South African Airways offers four flights weekly between the two nations.

Jet’s Airbus A330-200 daily flight will depart Mumbai at 0205, hours arriving at Johannesburg at 0735 hours. The return leg will depart Johannesburg at 1100 and arrive at 2330 hours.

Bryan Thompson , Director Operations , MIAL seen lighting theinaugural lamp at the launch of Jet Airways Mumbai – Johannesburg service at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport. With him are Nikos Kardassis, CEO Jet Airways (in the centre) and Sudheer Raghavan, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet Airways (first from left).

The launch of this new international route marks the beginning of Jet Airways’ international network expansion to Africa.

Jet will also offer passengers seamless onward connections to several destinations across South Africa, including Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, Kruger National Park and East London.

Additionally, in conjunction with its daily non-stop service to Johannesburg, the airline has also introduced exclusive South African JetEscapes packages.

Bryan Thompson ,Director Operations , MIAL, seen cutting the ribbon to inaugurate the check-in counters for Jet Airways’ maiden flight from Mumbai to Johannesburg.

The airline also will provide convenient onward connections, via Johannesburg, to African cities including Harare, Victoria Falls, Windhoek, Livingstone, Mauritius, Lilongwe, Blantyre, Bulawayo, Gaborone, Maputo, Kinshasa, Lagos, Luanda and Lusaka.

According to Nikos Kardassis, CEO of the airline, “Jet Airways is delighted to enter Africa with its daily Mumbai-Johannesburg service. South Africa’s reputation as a leading tourist and business destination, and the fact that it will play host to the 2010 FIFA World Cup also presents a huge opportunity for Jet Airways. We are confident of growing the South African, as indeed the African market, and emerging as among the leading carriers to the region from India”.

“Given the strong linkages between India and South Africa, and the large number of people of Indian origin living in and working in South Africa, we believe that there is untapped potential and this new route promises to serve the needs of our discerning corporate and leisure flyers”, he added.

Jet Airways currently operates a fleet of 87 aircraft with an average fleet age of 4.69 years.

It flies to 65 destinations in India and globally.

Jet Airways (including its all-economy, no-frills Jet Airways Konnect service) operates over 380 flights daily.

news source – http://www.aviationrecord.com/Cargo/tabid/68/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/2532/Jet-Airways-launches-Mumbai-Johannesburg-service.aspx

With a large number of people of Indian origin living in and/or working in South Africa, as well as its emergence as a leading business destination and wealth of tourist attractions, the new route opens up an untapped potential for India’s premier international airline. Johannesburg will be the twenty-second destination in Jet Airways’ international network.

The Airbus 330-200 will fly non-stop to the Rainbow Nation. The spacious full-length wide-bodied twin aisle cabin of the A330-200 is configured in two classes, with 30 seats in Première (Business Class) and 190 seats in Economy. The airline’s Première guests will enjoy a 180 degree flat bed with lumbar support and massage systems, oversized table, laptop power, telephony, SMS, Email and live text news to deliver a flying office, state-of-the-art On-Demand Panasonic In-Flight Entertainment (IFE), as well as the finest in-flight dining and service.

Flight 9W 242 will depart Mumbai at 0205 hrs, arriving in Johannesburg at 0735 hrs. On the return leg, flight 9W 241 will depart Johannesburg at 1100 hrs, arriving in Mumbai at 2330 hrs. Return Economy fares from various Indian cities start from INR 35,595 (approx £490) while return Première (Business) Class fares start from INR 116,020 (approx £1,600).

Jet Airways currently flies to New York (both JFK and Newark), Toronto, Brussels, London (Heathrow), Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo, Bangkok, Kathmandu, Dhaka, Kuwait, Bahrain, Muscat, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Jeddah, Sharjah and Riyadh.

Flight 9W 553, with a full complement of passengers  departed Doha at 0330 hrs, and arrived in Delhi at 0940 .The flight was behind schedule by 4 Hrs 40 Minutes due to adverse weather conditions at Delhi .

Flight 9W554 from Delhi arrived Doha at 0001 Hrs local time. Mr. K.Prasad, General Manager Qatar and Mr. Vijay Bhushan Airport Manager, Doha received the Passengers and Crew. All the departing Passengers were met and  greeted and given special gifts.

According to Mr. Nikos Kardassis, CEO, Jet Airways, Doha has been among the more popular destinations in Jet Airways international network, and the airlines services to and from India to the capital of Qatar have been much appreciated by travelers. The launch of Jet Airways daily services to Doha from Delhi will cater to the strong customer demand for direct flights on the route, and will also connect travelers from Doha to Jet Airways 61-destination strong network spanning the length and breadth of India and beyond. In addition to Doha, Jet Airways flies from India to eight destinations in the Gulf, including Kuwait, Bahrain, Muscat, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Jeddah, Sharjah and Riyadh.

About Jet Airways

Jet Airways currently operates a fleet of 89 aircraft, which includes 10 Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft, 12 Airbus A330-200 aircraft, 53 next generation Boeing 737-700-800-900 aircraft and 14 modern ATR 72-500 turboprop aircraft. With an average fleet age of 4.58 years, the airline has one of the youngest aircraft fleet in the world.

Flights to 61 destinations span the length and breadth of India and beyond, including New York both JFK and Newark, Toronto, Brussels, London Heathrow, Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo, Bangkok, Kathmandu, Dhaka, Kuwait, Bahrain, Muscat, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Jeddah, Sharjah and Riyadh.

About Jet Airways Konnect

Jet Airways Konnect is Jet Airways’ all-economy service on key domestic routes, designed to meet the needs of the low-fare segment with value-for-money fares.

Jet Airways Konnect links five major metros- Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata – with several destinations across India, operating over 195 flights daily.

Jet Airways and its all-economy, no-frills Jet Airways Konnect service together operate over 300 flights daily.

About JetLite

JetLite is a wholly owned subsidiary of Jet Airways India Ltd. and was acquired by Jet Airways in April 2007. Positioned as an all-economy, no-frills airline, JetLite operates a fleet of 23 aircraft, which includes 16 Boeing 737 series and 7 Canadian Regional Jets 200 Series. The airline flies to 28 domestic destinations and 2 international destinations Kathmandu and Colombo, operating over 110 flights a day, on average.

Jet Airways, Jet Airways Konnect, its all-economy, no-frills service, and JetLite have a combined fleet strength of 112 aircraft and operate over 410 flights daily.

Dr. P. Umanath, Collector, Coimbatore District was the Chief Guest at the event. Well-known film stars Radhika Sarathkumar and Master Rahhul Sarat added glitter to the celebrations, making the day more memorable for the young guests.

Corporate partners and sponsors Airports Authority of India, Indian Oil Corporation, set of new clothes from Shree Devi Textiles, Lux Casual Wear (Tirupur) and K R Group turned up in full force in support of this noble cause.

Over 50 children had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience the joy of flying on board Jet Airways flight 9W 817. The flight was operated in support of three non-governmental organizations, Family for Children, Don Bosco and Make a Wish Foundation as also hearing and speech impaired children from Government sponsored schools.

The Flight of Fantasy initiative was launched by Jet Airways in 1997. The airline has been operating such flights year after year, usually to commemorate Childrens Day in several cities across India, benefiting and enlightening several underprivileged and special children.

Nikos Kardassis, Chief Executive Officer, Jet Airways said, It is indeed a privilege for us to work with these notable NGOs and their wards. It is most gratifying to see smiles lighting up the little faces with The Flight of Fantasy.

The flight took off from the domestic terminal of the Coimbatore Airport at 12.40 hours and returned to the airport at 13.15 hours.

Fun, frolic and excitement filled every moment of the childrens Flight of Fantasy experience right from the time they arrived at the domestic terminal. Refreshments were served at the lounge, courtesy KR Group. As the flight landed, the children were in for another surprise. Jet Airways staff at Coimbatore airport contributed towards special gifts and goodie bags for the children, thereby helping them takeaway memories that they could cherish for a lifetime.

About Jet Airways

Jet Airways currently operates a fleet of 89 aircraft, which includes 10 Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft, 12 Airbus A330-200 aircraft, 53 next generation Boeing 737-700/800/900 aircraft and 14 modern ATR 72-500 turboprop aircraft. With an average fleet age of 4.58 years, the airline has one of the youngest aircraft fleet in the world.

Flights to 61 destinations span the length and breadth of India and beyond, including New York (both JFK and Newark), Toronto, Brussels, London (Heathrow), Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo, Bangkok, Kathmandu, Dhaka, Kuwait, Bahrain, Muscat, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Jeddah, Sharjah and Riyadh.

About Jet Airways Konnect

Jet Airways Konnect is Jet Airways all-economy service on key domestic routes, designed to meet the needs of the low-fare segment with value-for-money fares.

Jet Airways Konnect links five major metros- Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata – with several destinations across India, operating over 195 flights daily.

Jet Airways and its all-economy, no-frills Jet Airways Konnect service together operate over 300 flights daily.

About JetLite

JetLite is a wholly owned subsidiary of Jet Airways India Ltd. and was acquired by Jet Airways in April 2007. Positioned as an all-economy, no-frills airline, JetLite operates a fleet of 23 aircraft, which includes 16 Boeing 737 series and 7 Canadian Regional Jets 200 Series. The airline flies to 28 domestic destinations and 2 international destinations (Kathmandu and Colombo), operating over 110 flights a day, on average.

Jet Airways, Jet Airways Konnect, its all-economy, no-frills service, and JetLite have a combined fleet strength of 112 aircraft and operate over 410 flights daily.