Jet Airways to reintroduce services on Mumbai-Coimbatore sector

Effective November 27, 2008, Jet Airways, India’s premier international airline will reintroduce services on the Mumbai-Coimbatore sector.
The airline will commence daily flights on the sector aboard its State-of-the-art Boeing 737-800 aircraft.
Flight 9W 413 will depart Mumbai at 1235 hrs and arrive Coimbatore at 1420 hrs. On the return, flight 9W 414 will depart Coimbatore at 1500 hrs and arrive Mumbai at 1645 hrs.
Commenting on the service, Mr. Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, CEO, Jet Airways said, “The re-introduction of Jet Airways’ daily Mumbai-Coimbatore service is in keeping with the airline’s decision to connect more cities across its network to its gateway cities, offering passengers seamless connections to several cities across North America, Europe, Asia and the Gulf.”
26/11/08 PRESS RELEASE/Jet Airways

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AI, Jet operate flights as per schedule to and from Mumbai

New Delhi: Air India (AI) and Jet Airways operated flights out of terror-struck Mumbai as per their normal schedules, but Kingfisher clubbed a few of its flights from and to the western megapolis.
“All Air India flights, both domestic and international, have operated normally as per schedule. Normal schedule of our flights will be maintained,” an Air India spokesperson said.
A Jet Airways spokesperson also said that their flights in and out of Mumbai would operate in accordance with their normal schedule.
However, their Kingfisher Airlines counterpart said that one flight each on Delhi-Mumbai, Bangalore-Mumbai, Hyderabad-Mumbai and Nashik-Mumbai sectors have been combined with other flights on the same routes.
27/11/08 Livemint

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Ready for salary cut, but first fire expats, say Jet pilots

Mumbai : Even as Jet Airways pilots mull over the management’s proposal to take a 10 per cent cut in their salaries, they are adamant on their demand that the company should first fire all expatriate pilots who are contracted at higher costs before accepting any salary cuts.
Speaking to The Indian Express on condition of anonymity, a Jet airways senior commander admitted that there was a consensus among most pilots that the 10-per cent cut in their salaries was inevitable, but said the pilots’ stand on their expatriate counterparts would remain intact. “Roughly, an airline can hire five Indian pilots for every three expatriate pilots,” said an Indian commander working for India’s largest private carrier. Officials at Jet Airways could not be reached for their comments.
The issue goes back to 2004 when India’s aviation industry witnessed a boom and the entry of low-cost carriers added large capacity to the market which could not be met by the existing pool of Indian pilots, most of whom lacked flying experience required to pilot the 737-800s and A320s. And therefore hiring expatriate pilots on contract basis became a trend. But, according to another senior Indian commander, contracts of expatriate pilots are always renewed and batches of Indian pilots who are now ready to pilot larger aircraft are not given a chance to do the same.
26/11/08 Shashank Shekhar/Indian Express

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Air India, Jet flights diverted from Bangkok due to protests

New Delhi: Four flights of Indian carriers to Bangkok were diverted today as Thai anti-government protestors stormed the Suvarnabhumi International Airport disrupting flight operations there.
Two Air India flights to Bangkok, one from Delhi (IC-853) and another from Mumbai (IC-693), were diverted and landed at Utapao airport, about 90 nautical miles off Bangkok.
An Air India spokesperson said the passengers were then transferred by road to Bangkok.
Jet Airways flights from the two cities to Bangkok, 9W-064 and 9W-062, were, however, diverted back to Kolkata, from where they returned to their originating points of Delhi and Mumbai, an airline spokesperson said.
Outbound flights at the Bangkok airport were also affected since last night as hundreds of demonstrators -- some masked and armed with metal rods -- broke through police lines and spilled into the passenger terminal, reports said.
25/11/08 Press Trust of India

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Two Bangkok-bound flights land at Kolkata airport

Kolkata: Two Bangkok-bound flights on Wednesday landed at Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose international airport on Wednesday morning and four more flights were cancelled as anti-government protesters raided the Bangkok international airport premises.
Airport sources said a Jet Airways Mumbai to Bangkok flight 9W62 with 62 passengers and crew members was diverted to Kolkata where it landed at 6 am. Another Jet Airways Delhi-Bangkok flight 9W64 with 128 passengers and crew followed suit at 7 am.
The airport authorities are assessing the situation at the Bangkok airport and accordingly will take a decision as to when they would be allowed to resume flights to Bangkok.
The airport authorities said all the stranded passengers were safe and arrangements were being made for their alternative accommodation.
The four flights cancelled were: Thai Airways DG 314, Jet Airways 9w66, Druk Air KB120 and last night's Thai Airways TG 314.
26/11/08 PTI/Sify

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Jet to phase out expatriate pilots

Mumbai: Giving in to the overwhelming demand of getting rid of expatriate pilots as early as it can the Jet Airways management today agreed to do so but in a phased six month retrenchment plan.
However, the management has its way in convincing non-pilot employees to take “voluntary” five to 25 per cent pay cut since the largest private airline of the country could not afford to bear the annual wage bill of over Rs 2,000 crore.
Jet has decided to limit expatriate pilots’ flying hours to 75 per month. Compared with the strength of 750 Indian pilots the expatriates are about 240 and draw 50 per cent more wages than their native counterparts. The airline has a total workforce of about 15,000 employees. Chairman Mr Naresh Goyal over a month ago wanted to lay-off around 2,000 probationers but had to face strong opposition from the employees as well as the government. Mr Goyal withdrew his “arbitrary” orders. Foreigners have been flying mostly Jet’s 737 fleet. Recently about 27 of them had been retrenched.
The company is desperately seeking to cut operational cost to minimise its losses which are said to be mounting minimum Rs 8 crore to 10 crore per day. The company suffered due to recession in the aviation industry as well as increase in fuel prices.
24/11/08 The Statesman

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Jet to reintroduce services on Chennai-Coimbatore sector

Effective December 1, 2008, Jet Airways will reintroduce services on the Chennai-Coimbatore sector.
The airline will commence daily flights on the sector aboard its new ATR 72-500 aircraft
Flight 9W 3570 will depart Chennai at 1125 hrs and arrive Coimbatore at 1235 hrs. On the return, flight 9W 3571 will depart Coimbatore at 1305 hrs and arrive Chennai at 1415 hrs.
Jet Airways operates daily services from three gateway cities (Chennai, Mumbai, Delhi) to its European hub in Brussels and onwards to New York (Newark and JFK) and Toronto. The airline also offers daily services to
Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Colombo from Chennai.
Commenting on the service, Mr. Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, CEO, Jet Airways said, “Besides catering to the traffic on the Chennai-Coimbatore sector, Jet Airways’ new ATR service will also enable passengers from Coimbatore to connect to our international gateway in Chennai, and onwards to several destinations across Asia, Europe and North America.
25/11/08 PRESS RELEASE/Jet Airways

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Pilots oppose Jet's graded salary cut plan

A gruelling seven-hour meeting between the Jet Airways management and employees at the Ramada Hotel in Mumbai today ended in partial success with employees other than the airline’s 750-odd Indian pilots agreeing to take graded salary cuts to help keep the troubled airline afloat. The pilots asked the management to give them a firm commitment on laying off the airline’s 240-odd expatriate pilots, most of whom are commanders and receive salaries 50 per cent higher than their Indian counterparts. The expatriate pilots are employed on contract.
The airline had, however, laid off about 27 expatriate pilots who flew the 737 fleet a few weeks ago. The Jet management said it is prepared to meet the pilots again in the next few days for an amicable settlement, but does not rule out strong action if there is no agreement.
The trouble for Jet Airways, the country’s largest private carrier, in immediately laying off the expatriate pilots is that most of them are flying the wide-bodied aircraft for the airline. But the airline is yet to lease out at least six of the Boeing 777-300-ERs. In the recent past, it announced a deal with Turkish Airline but the final lease agreement is yet to be finalised. The airline also has to phase out certain aircraft as part of fleet rationalisation and this move will also take time. So, to deliver immediately on the Indian pilots’ demand will be tough call for the airline.
24/11/08 Business Standard

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Jet bosses to take salary cuts to keep flying

New Delhi: Jet Airways, the country’s Number I private airline, has asked its top management to take a 25 per cent cut in salaries and help the company tide over a decline in business.
Sources in the company told CNN-IBN the top management would take a 25 per cent cut in salary. The company’s management has proposed a 10 per cent cut in the salaries of pilots and engineers.
Employees earning up to Rs 5 lakh a month will face a deduction of 5 per cent. Employees earning more than Rs 5 lakh will face a deduction of 10 per cent. The pay cut would not affect employees earning less than Rs 75,000 per month.
A five-member member team led by company chairperson Naresh Goyal has been set up to explore cost-cutting measures. As part of such measures, the company will lease out nine aircraft, reduce hotel and entertainment allowances and scrap training allowance for pilots.
Jet pilots are reportedly opposed to the proposal and have argued that there are other areas in which the airline can cut costs. Goyal met with his pilots on Sunday and is scheduled to meet with flight engineers.
CNN-IBN’s aviation correspondent reports Jet’s top management wants to set an example by taking salary cuts. Goyal has said it is difficult to contain costs and salary cuts is one of the few options the airline has to do it.
23/11/08 CNN-IBN

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Jet Airways chief to meet pilots, officials over salary cut

Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal is likely to meet pilots, engineers and other officials on Monday to discuss cost-cutting measures, including salary cuts up to 20 per cent, an official said on Sunday.
“The Jet chief will meet pilots and other airline officials tomorrow (Monday) to discuss cost-cutting measures. The decision on salary cuts will be announced after the meeting,” the official told IANS requesting anonymity.
However, AK Shivanandan, senior general manager of public relations of sister airlines JetLite, said he was not aware of the development.
The company's decision comes close on the heels of its chairman's remarks that Jet was already "over-staffed and reeling under heavy losses".
Reacting to Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel's request to airlines to cut fares, Goyal Saturday said at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit here that the aviation companies “cannot take a hit on our bottomline by trimming airfare”.
"If we continue losing, no bank will give us money," he added.
23/11/08 Indo-Asian News Service/Hindustan Times

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Jet Airways in talks to raise Rs1,500 crore from SBI, PNB

Mumbai: India’s largest private carrier Jet Airways (India) Ltd is set to raise Rs1,500 crore from two domestic banks—State Bank of India and Punjab National Bank—to meet working capital requirements and fund expansion plans, according to a senior executive of one of the lenders who didn’t want to be identified.
A senior Jet Airways executive, on condition of anonymity, confirmed that the carrier is in talks with these two banks. “We are in talks with several banks to raise money. It is too premature to comment on details of the fund-raising,” he said. He did not want to be identified considering the sensitivity of subject.
The senior banker mentioned earlier said both the banks have in principle agreed to lend to Jet on “appropriate collaterals”.
Jet Airways is also in talks with Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Development Co., an investment company promoted by the government of the emirate of Abu Dhabi, for a Rs1,000 crore loan.
Rival Kingfisher Airlines Ltd is also looking at tapping overseas lenders in Singapore and Hong Kong.
A senior Kingfisher Airlines executive declined to comment on the issue.
The Mumbai-based carrier recently raised Rs1,000 crore from ICICI Bank Ltd to meet its working capital requirement. A person close to the development, who did not want to be identified, said Kingfisher Airlines has approached ICICI Bank again for another loan. The carrier is in talks with investors to raise $400 million (Rs2,048 crore) by diluting its equity.
Meanwhile, National Aviation Co. of India Ltd, or Nacil, that runs Air India, is also looking at raising $2.5 billion from the banks to fund the acquisition of 23 Boeing planes that will be delivered by 2011. The carrier will initiate the process of raising $2.5 billion from a consortium of banks in December.
23/11/08 P.R. Sanjai/Livemint

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Jet Air may not fly Bangalore-Brussels

Mumbai: Less than a month after it started on the route, Jet Airways is planning to pull the plug on its flights between Bangalore and Brussels.
The airline has stopped accepting bookings for the Bangalore-Brussels-Bangalore route post January 12 on its website and on various ticketing systems.
According to sources, the flights saw weak loads and few advance bookings, prompting the airline to cut losses and exit the route.
Jet had connected the route for the first time on October 31. The airline is also downsizing its aircraft on the Mumbai-Brussels-Newark sector, from a Boeing 777 to the slightly smaller Airbus A330, which would not have a first class cabin.
Saroj Dutta, executive director of the airline and Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, the chief executive officer, did not respond to calls.
With the Bangalore-Brussels flight, Jet Airways connected the IT centre of India with North American destinations like Newark, New York and Toronto through its scissor hub at Brussels.
The initial plan was to have four weekly flights — till December 14 — and daily flight from then on until January 15, 2009, to cater to the holiday rush.
22/11/08 Nirmal John/Daliy News & Analysis

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Jet Airways, JetLite under MRTPC lens

New Delhi: The Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Commission (MRTPC) has initiated investigations into the Naresh Goyal-owned Jet Airways and its low-cost subsidiary JetLite over cartelisation concerns. The two airlines announced a code-sharing agreement and back-end synergies last month. The commission is already investigating the high-profile alliance between Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines after they signed a similar code-sharing agreement in September to see whether the formation of an alliance would lead to a monopoly in the aviation business.
A senior MRTPC official said: “We have taken into account the recent development as both Jet Airways and JetLite are operating separately. The investigation has been ordered to look into the details of the code-share agreement between these airlines and see whether it violates any provision of the MRTP Act, including unfair trade practices as well as cartelisation in the aviation industry.”
A questionnaire mailed to Jet Airways on the issue went unanswered and senior officials could not be reached for comments. Under the code-share agreement announced on October 21, both carriers had planned to leverage their respective networks and offer higher connectivity in more than 50 domestic and international markets.
21/11/08 21 Chanchal Pal Chauhan/Economic Times

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Jet seeks code-share with BMI

Indian carrier Jet Airways is in talks with BMI about code-sharing flights from regional airports to its hub in Brussels.
It believes there is a big market in Indian communities around East Midlands and Leeds/Bradford airports for travel on one ticket via Brussels, rather than through Heathrow.
It said a deal would compensate for a slowdown in traffic on Jet’s London routes, which led to the cancellation of its Heathrow-Amritsar service.
Jet’s European vice-president, Raja Sagran, said a code-share would help it establish a presence outside of the south-east of England.
It would also mean passengers from the regions could connect with Jet’s destinations in North America as well as India.
“It would offer a product that is as good or better than transiting through Heathrow,” he said.
Jet said its Heathrow-Amritsar route had not attracted enough premium or economy passengers, but it affirmed its committed to maintaining its Heathrow-Mumbai and Heathrow-Delhi routes through the downturn.
20/11/08 TTG live, UK

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Jet-Kingfisher pact won’t be in full swing for at least 5 months

Mumbai: The much talked about operating alliance between Jet Airways (India) Ltd and Kingfisher Airlines Ltd will have to wait at least five more months to become a full-fledged one. This is mainly because both carriers will have to respect the ongoing contracts with various suppliers, including fuel, food and ground handling services.
“This was a hurriedly concluded alliance agreement. Both Kingfisher and Jet are not quite sure about the areas and nature of the cooperation. There is no question about crew-sharing as both of them have very few common type of aircraft,” said a retired senior executive of the National Aviation Co. of India Ltd, who is currently working as a consultant to some aviation projects. He asked not to be named.
“Of course, there could be some savings by joining hands. But there will be very marginal benefits for Jet and Kingfisher in terms of joint fuel purchase since they are buying from state-owned oil marketing companies. One will have to wait for the details of the alliance structure,” he added.
Executives of Jet Airways and Kingfisher Airlines met last week to prepare the blueprint for this operating alliance agreement, that was signed on 13 October. “Three senior executives of each carrier met last week and more members are slated to meet by mid-December,” said a senior Jet Airways executive on condition of anonymity. “Sharing of ground handling services such as sharing common buses that are used on the tarmac would be the first among few things to start with. Later on, Jet and Kingfisher will start approaching oil marketing companies for joint purchase of jet fuel.”
A senior Kingfisher Airlines executive, who did not want to be named, confirmed the development, but did not disclose the details of the high-level joint committee that is working on this alliance.
20/11/08 P.R. Sanjai/Livemint

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Jet Airways appoints new general manager in Canada

Toronto: Jet Airways has appointed B. Chandrashekar as its acting general manager for Canada.
Chandrashekar, who has been overseeing sales operations for the airline in mid-western America and Canada, replaces Justin Gosling.
According to a Jet Airways statement issued here, Gosling is leaving the airline to pursue a career outside the aviation industry.
Chandrashekar has been instrumental in launching the airline’s North American operations, including its five weekly flights from Toronto to Delhi.
The airline statement said Chandrashekhar will continue to perform his role in sales operations in the mid-western US market as well Canada.
20/11/08 IANS/Sindh Today, Pakistan

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Jet Airways to reintroduce Bangalore-Mangalore flights

Bangalore: With the rise in passenger traffic, Jet Airways would reintroduce daily service on the Bangalore-Mangalore sector from December one.
Flight 9W 3561 will fly to and fro twice between the two cities in Karnataka everyday. The first flight would depart here at 0855 hrs and arrive Mangalore at 0955 hrs. On the return leg, it would leave Mangalore at 1025 hrs and arrive in the city at 1125 hrs.
In the evening, the flight will leave the city at 1730 hrs and arrive in Mangalore at 1830 hrs. On its return trip it will leave Mangalore at 1900 hrs and arrive here at 2000 hrs.
Also from December one, Jet Airways would further enhance its services to and from India's IT hubs Pune and Bangalore. Flight 9W 3559 would depart Pune daily at 0620 hrs and arrive in the city at 0820 hrs. It would depart here at 2030 hrs and arrive Pune at 2250 hrs.This is in addition to Jet Airways existing services operated by 9W 445 and 9W 446 on the same route.
19/11/08 UNI/SahilOnline

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Jet Airways gets regulatory approval for RNAV1 use

Mumbai: Jet Airways has become the first airline in India, to have obtained regulatory approval for the use of RNAV1 (Area Navigation) across its entire jet aircraft fleet. This is subsequent to the recently introduced Performance Based Navigation (PBN) procedures in India.
Additionally, Jet Airways has also become the first airline in India to have obtained regulatory approval for the conduct of RNP 0.3 approaches at applicable airfields.With this advanced technology, a very high level of navigational accuracy is achieved, thus enabling better airspace utilisation through stringent accuracy requirements. This method allows aircraft to operate on any station referenced navigation aids or self contained aids or both, thus enabling optimization of airspace, reducing dependency on routes based on ground navigation aids and permitting reduced separation between two airborne aircrafts, without compromising safety standards.
Accordingly, Jet Airways has trained its jet fleet pilots to operate these procedures.
Mr. Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, CEO, Jet Airways commented, “The continuing growth of aviation calls for efficient utilisation of available airspace to enhance operational efficiency. At Jet Airways we are proud that we have become the first airline in India to be approved by Regulatory authorities to use RNAV 1 Performance Based Navigation (PBN) and conduct RNP 0.3 approaches wherever appropriate. This is proof of our greater commitment to safety of operations “
17/11/08 PRESS RELEASE/Jet Airways

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India’s Jet Airways to fly daily from San Francisco

Holi festival in Mumbai, IndiaJet Airways, one of India’s largest airlines, is fast expanding routes in North America.
The airline, which launched service to Mumbai from Toronto, Newark, New Jersey, and New York’s JFK airport in the last 12 months, is now announcing daily service starting May 5 from San Francisco to Mumbai, with a stop in Shanghai, China.
My mom flew Jet Airways from Newark to Mumbai this month, and liked its increased legroom (30-inch seat pitch, the airline says) and found the staff “very courteous.”
The airline, launched 15 years ago with domestic flights competing against the government-operated Indian Airlines, began international service in 2004. On the San Francisco-to-Mumbai route, it will fly Boeing 777 jets, with first- and business-class amenities that include 23-inch flat screens and seats that convert to flat beds. Passengers in first and premier classes will have Bose noise-canceling headphones for in-seat entertainment, the airline said. Round-trip introductory fares will run about $699, excluding taxes and fees, an airline spokesman said.
Vani Rangachar, Los Angeles Times Deputy Travel Editor/Los Angeles Times Blogs, USA

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Jet Airways denies stake sale deal with Temasek

Jet Airways India denied a newspaper report that it was planning to sell a 10% stake to Singapore's state-owned investment fund Temasek Holdings for Rs2.5bn.
India's largest private sector airline said that it does not comment on speculative reports. However, with regard to this particular news item, the company clarifies that it is not correct.
A leading financial daily had reported today that Jet Airways was in advanced negotiations to sell the 10% stake to Temasek.
Separately, Jet Airways' executive director Saroj Datta said that other reports of fund raising from Abu Dhabi were also incorrect. "Everything reported in the papers is false and incorrect," Datta was quoted as saying.
Two separate newspapers reported that the airline was in talks with Abu Dhabi state-owned Mubadala Development Co. for raising Rs10bn.
12/11/08 India Infoline.com

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