Jet Taps Fast-Rising Thai-India Demand
By Boonsong Kositchotethana, Bangkok Post, Thailand
Apr. 23–Jet Airways, which bills itself as India’s premier international airline, is moving to tap booming Indo-Thai air traffic by launching its third link between the two countries early next month.
Daily service will begin on May 7 between Bangkok and Mumbai, its home base, using a Boeing 738-800 jetliner that can carry up to 144 passengers.
The launch will give Jet a total of 21 weekly flights including those on its Bangkok-Delhi and Bangkok-Calcutta routes.
The number of air travellers between Thailand and India soared to 1.47 million last year from only 325,374 in the previous year, according to Gerry Oh, Jet Airways’ regional vice-president for Southeast Asia.
Travel is surging in line with impressive growth in two-way commercial activity including tourism, buoyed by India’s rising economic power.
The four Indian cities with the highest traffic volume are New Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta and Bangalore, respectively.
Mumbai is the second largest Indian market in terms of air passenger volume.
Mr Oh, a Singaporean who previously worked for Singapore Airlines, said Jet aimed to record annual double-digit growth on the India-Thailand sector and was prepared to compete with eight other airlines serving the two countries including Thai Airways International, Cathay Pacific, Air India and Indian.
Jet has been pleased with the performance of its first two routes, which have achieved a cabin factor of around 80 percent since services began in January last year.
The airline, which started international operations in 2004 after flying domestic routes since 1993, is also looking at the Indochina market, especially Vietnam, using Bangkok as a stepping stone, according to Mr Oh.
It is also exploring a co-operative agreement with THAI, a leader in the Indo-Thai air traffic market, including code-sharing.
Jet believes it has a competitive edge on rival airlines with its strong emphasis on award-winning inflight services and products. It offers Thai food and now has 60 Thai cabin attendants.
The carrier also introduced daily service between Mumbai and Hong Kong on April 14, aimed particularly at the business and banking community. It now has a total of 60 destinations across India and beyond, including New York, Toronto, Brussels, London, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo, Kathmandu, Dhaka, Kuwait, Bahrain, Muscat and Doha.
The airline plans to extend its international operations to other cities in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia in phases with the introduction of additional wide-body aircraft.
Jet currently operates 81 aircraft, including 10 Boeing 777-300 ERs, eight Airbus A330-200s, 54 classic and next-generation Boeing 737s and nine ATR 72-500 turboprops.
—–
To see more of the Bangkok Post, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.bangkokpost.com.
Copyright (c) 2008, Bangkok Post, Thailand
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
For reprints, email tmsreprints@permissionsgroup.com, call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA.