Jet Airways

Jet Airways is an airline based in Mumbai, India. It is the country's second-largest international airline after Air India and the largest domestic airline. It operates over 400 daily flights to 64 destinations. Its primary base is Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Airport with secondary hubs at Bangalore, Brussels, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune.^[1]

In July 2008, it was honored as the world's best long-haul airline after Singapore Airlines.^[2] In a poll conducted in September 2008, it was voted as the world's seventh best airline overall.^[3] Jet Airways has also won an award for the quality of its catering.^[4][5] According to March 2008 figures, Jet Airways share of India's domestic aviation market stood at 29.8%, including its low-cost subsidiary JetLite's share of 7.1%, making it the largest airline in India. However, the airline faces competition from other domestic carriers like Kingfisher Airlines, SpiceJet and IndiGo Airlines.^[6]

Kingfisher chairman Vijay Mallya and his Jet Airways counterpart Naresh Goyal announced an alliance after a meeting on 13th October 2008 at Mumbai, India. The alliance will include code-sharing on both domestic and international flights, joint fuel management to reduce expenses, common ground handling, joint utilisation of crew and sharing of similar frequent flier programmes.

History

Airbus A340-300 in an older colour scheme in 2005

Jet Airways was incorporated as an air taxi operator on 1 April 1992. It started commercial airline operations on 5 May 1993 with a fleet of 4 Boeing 737-300 aircraft. In January 1994, a change in the law enabled Jet Airways to apply for scheduled airline status, which was granted on 4 January 1995. It began international operations to Sri Lanka in March 2004. While the company is listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange, 80% of its stock is controlled by Naresh Goyal (through his ownership of Jet’s parent company, Tailwinds, and has 10,017 employees (at March 2007).^[7]

Naresh Goyal, who already owned Jetair (Private) Limited, which provided sales and marketing for foreign airlines in India, set up Jet Airways as a full-service scheduled airline to compete against state-owned Indian Airlines. Indian Airlines had enjoyed a monopoly in the domestic market between 1953, when all major Indian air transport providers were nationalised under the Air Corporations Act (1953), and January 1994, when the Air Corporations Act was repealed, following which Jet Airways received scheduled airline status.

Jet Airways Boeing 777-300ER in the airline's new color scheme in 2007

Jet Airways and Air Sahara were the only private airlines to survive the Indian business downturn of the early 1990s. In January 2006, Jet Airways announced that it would buy Air Sahara for US$500 million in an all-cash deal, making it the biggest takeover in Indian aviation history. The resulting airline would have been the country's largest^[8] but the deal fell through in June 2006.

On 12 April 2007, Jet Airways agreed to buy out Air Sahara for 14.5 billion rupees (US$340 million). Air Sahara was renamed JetLite, and was marketed between a low-cost carrier and a full service airline. In August 2008, Jet Airways announced its plans to completely integrate JetLite into Jet Airways.^[9]

In October 2008, Jet Airways laid off 1900 of its employees, resulting in the largest lay-off in the history of Indian aviation.^[10] However, later, the employees have been asked to return to work. Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel said that the management reviewed its decision after he analyzed the decision with them. ^{[11] [12]}

Destinations

Main article: Jet Airways destinations

Jet Airways serves 64 destinations by itself and 22 destinations across the world through Code Sharing. In addition to destinations across India and other parts of the Indian subcontinent (Colombo, Dhaka, Kathmandu), Jet Airways expanded international operations to include destinations in Asia (Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Shanghai [ending January 13], Singapore), Europe (Brussels, London), the Middle East (Abu Dhabi, Dubai , Bahrain, Doha, Kuwait, Muscat) and North America (New York, Newark, San Francisco [ending January 13], Toronto). By July 2007, it was connecting India with over 50 international destinations.^[13]

Jet Airways operates a scissors-hub in Brussels, with four Indian cities (Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai) connected to three North American cities (New York, Newark, Toronto).

Citing the current economical downturn, Jet Airways will suspend the Brussels-Bengalore route as from January 12th 2009, and reduce the capacity on the Mumbai-Brussels-Newark route by replacing its flagship Boeing 777-300ER to an Airbus A330-200 as from January 21st 2009.

Jet Airways will end service to Shanghai, China and San Francisco on January 13, 2009.

Fleet

Jet Airways Airbus A330-200

Jet Airways Boeing 737-700

As of June 2008, the average age of Jet Airways fleet was 4.1 years^[15].

Retired Fleet

In-Flight Services

Indian cuisine meal served onboard domestic Jet Airways flight.

A welcome aboard screen on a Jet Airways Airbus A330-200 aircraft

With the arrival of its new Boeing 777-300ER and Airbus A330-200 aircraft, Jet Airways has introduced a new cabin with upgraded seats in all classes. The Boeing 777-300ER aircraft has three classes of service: First, Première (Business), and Economy. The Airbus A330-200 aircraft have two classes: Première and Economy. All Airbus A330-200 and Boeing 777-300ER aircraft have this feature. Boeing 737 aircraft are configured differently. Jet Airways has a three-star rated Business and First Class, and is in the top twenty-five business classes reviewed by Skytrax. Economy class has been reviewed as a three-star product by Skytrax.

First Class

First class is available on all Boeing 777-300ER aircraft. All seats convert to a fully-flat bed, similar to Singapore Airlines suites but smaller. It was the second airline in the world to have private suites. (Emirates Airline were first, introducing the private suites in 2003 on their Airbus A340-500s). All seats have a 29-inch widescreen LCD monitor with audio-video on-demand (AVOD), in seat power supply, and USB ports etc. Jet Airways is the second airline in India to have fully-enclosed first class suites on its aircraft; each suite has a closeable door, making for a private compartment. It is the third-best first class in the world as conducted by Skytrax. The only airlines that surpass Jet in first class are Singapore Airlines and Emirates Airline.

Boeing 777-300ER Première class seats.

Première Class

Première Class (Business Class) on the Airbus A330-200 and Boeing 777-300ER International Fleet has a fully-flat bed with AVOD entertainment. Seats are configured in a herringbone pattern (1-2-1 on the Boeing 777-300ER, and 1-1-1 on the Airbus A330-200), with each seat offering direct access to the aisle. USB ports and in-seat laptop power are provided. Mood Lighting is installed on the Airbus A330 -200 and Boeing 777-300ER, with light schemes corresponding to the time of day and flight position.

On the short-haul/domestic Boeing 737, all new aircraft are equipped with AVOD. All seats are standard recliner business-class seats with a few newer aircraft with electronic recline and massager.

Economy Class

Economy class on the Airbus A330-200, Boeing 737 and Boeing 777-300ER has 32-inch seat pitch. All Boeing 777-300ER/Airbus A330-200, as well as some Boeing 737 aircraft, have a touch screen AVOD system. Seats on the Boeing 777-300ER/Airbus A330-200 have a "hammock-style" net footrest. The cabin is configured in 3-3-3 abreast on the Boeing 777-300ER, 2-4-2 on the Airbus A330-200, and 3-3 in the Boeing 737.

Codeshares Agreement

Jet Airways has codeshare agreements with the following airlines [4]:

• Air Canada
• All Nippon Airways
• American Airlines
• Brussels Airlines
• Etihad Airways
• Jet Lite
• Qantas Airways

Awards & Achievements

Jet Airways has won awards recognising its service quality. Most recently, Jet was recognised for the excellence and quality of its service and in-flight experience in the ‘Airline of the Year Category’ at the “Which? awards ^[16]. Over 70 global airlines were assessed on multiple service parameters, including cabin staff, pre-flight service, cleanliness, comfort, food and value for money.

Jet Airways became the world's second airline to introduce private First Class Suites in the air (Boeing 777-300ER).

References

External links

• Official website
• Indian Aviation Business news report on Bloomberg
• News timeline for Jet Airways
• Jet Airways buyout of Air Sahara on BBC news