Jet Airways may join SkyTeam or Star Alliance

New Delhi: The country’s largest airline by passengers carried, Jet Airways (India) Ltd, plans to join international airline groupings SkyTeam or Star Alliance. The airline is also considering rebranding its low-cost carrier JetLite.
Jet, with a 115-aircraft fleet, has been expanding overseas since 2007 and an alliance with one of these groupings would help it grow its reach and revenue by about 5%, according to analysts.
The choice is limited though. Of the three global alliances, Air India is integrating into Star, the biggest, this year, and Kingfisher Airlines is joining OneWorld.
The aviation ministry does not want two major airlines in the same alliance, which would leave SkyTeam as Jet’s only option.
“OneWorld is already with (Kingfisher) so its has to be between Star and SkyTeam,” Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal said last week on the sidelines of a conference marking 100 years of flight in India. “But we are not in a hurry. Emirates has not joined any alliance, has it?”
Jet connects to 24 international cities, second only to Air India’s network, and has been stitching code-share agreements with international carriers to increase its reach.
27/01/11 Tarun Shukla/Live Mint

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Categories: Foreign Jan 2011, Jet Airways Jan 2011, New Jan 2011