The biggest gainers of the deal between Jet Airways and Etihad could well be those living in the mid-sized and smaller cities of India.
Post the deal, Jet plans to connect close to a dozen of these cities to destinations across the world through Etihad’s home base of Abu Dhabi, which will become the new hub for the Indian carrier.
“People in Tier 2 and 3 cities will see enhanced global connect, which may give a fillip to trade and tourism in those locations. They can expect more competition, better regional connectivity, higher efficiency and lower fares,” says Amber Dubey, Partner and Head-Aviation at global consultancy firm KPMG.
In three years from now, Jet Airways has plans to connect 23 cities to the world through Abu Dhabi. The cities include Patna, Baroda, Jaipur, Lucknow, Kozhikode, Amritsar, Baroda, Jaipur and others, including the metro cities. A Jet Airways source said that they have plans to induct 54 aircraft over a period of three to five years to support their expansion plan.
26/04/13 Mihir Mishra/Financial Express
