It may not be the best of seasons for airlines in India. High fuel costs, shortage of pilots and other operating hurdles had left many of them in the red in the last reporting quarter. But that has not deterred airlines from spending on upgrading their services.

Jet Airways, the largest private sector airline in the country, has refitted one of its Boeing -777 aircraft making a three-class configuration to offer first class service on its Mumbai-Hong Kong flight.

New first class service

The new first class service starting from August 21 will provide an ‘exclusive all-new five-star in-flight service,” said Mr Paul Wu, Country Manager for Jet in Hong Kong.

The first class suites on board will provide a personal cabin with sliding doors and a fully flat bed and a dining table for two, besides the other usual business-class amenities.

“Our aim is to ensure unmatched luxury, privacy and comfort to our elite passengers,” said Mr Wu, who has been with Jet Airways for over 15 years and posted in Hong Kong recently.

One of the things that will make the service unique is the in-flight meal, he said.

Signature menu

Jet, the first airline to offer first class service on the Mumbai-Hong Kong sector, has tied up with Hong Kong SkyCity Marriot, a five-star property of the international hotel chain, located close to the Hong Kong airport.

The hotel has designed what the airline calls the ‘Epicurean series' menu exclusively for its passengers boarding at Hong Kong.

The first of the signature menu series will be based on dishes at the hotel's Chinese restaurant Man Ho, said Mr Wu in an interview to Business Line in Hong Kong recently.

Profitable routes

With a load factor of 80 per cent, India-Hong Kong service, started two years ago, is one of the profitable routes for Jet's intentional operations.

Indians account for around 60 per cent of the passengers. Hong Kong has a large population of Indian origin and many are in business.

India is a leisure and business destination for them and Jet hopes to have more of them on its flight.

Besides, Jet also has Chinese and other Asian passengers going to Europe via Hong Kong.

“We have good connecting flights to Europe via Mumbai, which works out economical for them,” said Mr Wu.

According to Mr Wu, Jet may restart services to China by end of next year. It had discontinued its service to Shanghai in 2008.

HK Tourism board tie-up

The airline has also tied-up with the Hong Kong Tourism Board to popularise the country as a leisure destination for Indians.

“We need to develop a niche market because everyone is competing for the business and leisure segments,” he said.

The media trip from Mumbai was jointly sponsored by Jet and HK Tourism Board.

The refitted Boeing 777 will have eight first class cabins, 30 business and 274 economy class seats. To celebrate the new service, the airline will be offering a companion-free scheme under which one ticket will be offered free on every first class return ticket purchased before August 15.

The first class return fare for Mumbai- Hong Kong ranges from Rs 1.88 lakh (lowest) and Rs 2.10 lakh.

Jet also operates a daily service to Hong Kong from Delhi but this will continue to be operated by Airbus 330.

For the quarter ended June 30, Jet Airways reported a net loss of Rs 123 crore mainly due to high fuel costs.

Related Topics
comment COMMENT NOW