Competition in the air with Jet Airways' arrival

Jet Airways will launch a daily non-stop service between Johannesburg and Mumbai next Wednesday, ending SAA's monopoly on the direct route.
The fast-growing Indian airline will also provide stiff competition for the three Middle Eastern airlines flying to South Africa - Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways - all of which provide connecting flights from their home airports to a number of Indian cities, attracting travellers away from SAA.
Jet flies to 22 international destinations and has a domestic route network serving 51 cities across India.
Alex Cost, Jet's general manager in South Africa, said the Mumbai-based airline had been encouraged to start the service by the growth of business between the two countries.
Jet already had heavy two-way bookings for its new service from Indian and South African passengers. Many were travelling on business but tourism between the two countries was "thriving" despite the state of the world economy.
South Africa was a popular destination for Indian leisure travellers - "brand South Africa goes a long way in India" - but the airline was unlikely to bring many soccer fans during the World Cup. Soccer was not nearly as popular as cricket in India, he noted.
The award-winning airline will operate new Airbus A330-200 aircraft on the route, with 30 business class berths and 190 economy seats.
09/04/10 Business Report, South Africa

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Categories: Foreign Apr 2010, Jet Airways Apr 2010