Jet global expansion put on hold from November

Mumbai: India’s largest private airline by passengers flown, Jet Airways (India) Ltd, has decided to stop global expansion for a year starting November, ahead of the global launch of rival Kingfisher Airlines Ltd and in the background of record jet fuel prices.
“We have been expanding rapidly in the last 18 months. Now, we will be focusing on how our international and domestic flights feed each other,” said Sudheer Raghavan, chief commercial officer of Jet Airways, without elaborating on exactly how the airline plans to go about this.
Jet launched its overseas flights in 2004 and has since aggressively expanded its global operations. It now flies to 20 overseas destinations in the US, West Asia, Hong Kong, Singapore, China and Malaysia. State-run National Aviation Co. of India Ltd (Nacil), which runs Air India, flies to at least 35 foreign locations.
Jet’s decision comes in the wake of efforts by Indian airlines to cut costs to remain profitable after passenger traffic on domestic routes fell and jet fuel prices in the country rose 60% in the past year. Since June, these airlines have scrapped almost 15% domestic flights.
On international routes, Jet, run by billionaire non-resident Indian Naresh Goyal faces fresh competition. Kingfisher Airlines , promoted by billionaire Vijay Mallya, starts its international operations in September with a Bangalore-London flight. The airline will also start non-stop flights to 13 other foreign destinations, including Singapore, Hong Kong, Pakistan and the US.
28/08/08 P.R. Sanjai/Livemint

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Categories: Foreign Aug 2008, Jet Airways Aug 2008