The Hindu Business Line : JetLite on global routes: Jet to seek Govt nod

Brussels, Sept. 21 Jet Airways is to soon apply to the Government seeking permission for its fully owned subsidiary, JetLite to operate flights on international routes, the airline Chairman, Mr Naresh Goyal, has said.

JetLite, the new name given to Air Sahara that was acquired by Jet Airways earlier this year, would offer regular flights between India and the Gulf and some countries in South-East Asia, the airline Chairman said.

The Government, earlier this month, allowed Jet Airways to operate 70 flights a week between India and four countries in the Gulf, including Qatar, Bahrain and Kuwait. Before being acquired by Jet Airways, Air Sahara used to operate regular flights from India to Sri Lanka, Nepal and Singapore.

“JetLite is being run as a separate company right from the beginning and we are looking at getting the entire fleet off the ground soon. The airline is likely to break even by the end of the current fiscal,” Mr Goyal said, after the launch of the airlines international hub.

The airline is in the process of refurbishing the fleet and plans to induct not only new Boeing 737 aircraft, but also replace the older Canadian Regional Jets.

Meanwhile, Jet Airways is also in talks with Brussels Flight Training School for setting up a pilot training academy primarily here to look after its need.

“The talks are in the final stages and we hope to make an announcement soon. We hope to train around 200 candidates annually. Initially, the academy would take care of our requirements but later we plan to allow other airlines to recruit the pilots trained there,” Mr Goyal said. Earlier, this training school was owned by the Brussels-based Sabeena airlines

Mr Goyal, however, did not give other information about the proposed academy as the talks were still. Apart from a pilot training academy, Jet Airways is also looking at training engineers in Australia and also a cabin crew academy in India.

Cargo airline

The airline is also planning to launch a dedicated cargo airline and is in discussions with other players for a possible tie-up. “The plans are on and we are currently in the process of finalising them. We will be announcing our plans for the cargo airline by next year,” Mr Goyal said. The airline is also looking at more domestic destinations and increase frequencies to the existing destinations.

“We are looking at a 15 per cent increase in the capacity over the next three years and have placed orders for more aircraft in this regard. But the immediate plan is to add a connect to a few more destinations within the country,” he said.

Though Mr Goyal did not give any specific names on the destinations.

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