Mumbai: Jet Airways is suspending Delhi-Milan flights from next month in a route rationalisation exercise. While Jet continues to expand in the Gulf sector, it is curtailing long haul operations to cut down loss. Over the last few months Jet pulled out of Johannesburg and New York (JFK) routes.
"In view of the ongoing global economic slowdown and in particular the current economic crisis in the Eurozone countries, Jet Airways today announced that it has decided to temporarily withdraw its Airbus A330 daily direct service between New Delhi and Milan from Feb 1. As part of the on-going network rationalization program of the airline, one of the fiscal controlling measures adopted by the Management has been the withdrawal of loss making routes and redeployment of those assets and capacities on other routes and destinations, where profitability will be better,'' the airline said in a statement.
Jet did not disclose how it will redeploy the airbus A330 which currently flies to Milan. Both Johannesburg and New York too were served by the same aircraft type. It flies Boeing 777 on London routes. The airline made a loss of Rs 100 crore on stand alone basis in second quarter, a weak season for travel. While domestic operations resulted in loss international operations made Rs 45 crore profit in the period.
15/01/13 Aneesh Phadnis/Business Standard
