Jet Airways to expand international routes this year
To buy 10 Boeing 737, 777 series aircrafts by 2010
Saturday, January 26, 2008 (10:00 IST)
By Mayuresh Pawar | Mumbai
As part of their major expansion spree on international routes, Jet Airways is keen to spread its wings to various destinations - Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Zurich, Milan, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver, Tel Aviv, Johannesburg, Shanghai, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and Iran - by end of the year. The airline also plans to buy 10 more Boeing 737 and 777 series aircraft at an undisclosed price that will be utilised to connect long-haul flights on these routes. "We want to spread our wings to North America, Europe, Africa and Asia by end of the year and will be carrying it out in two or three phases," informed Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, Chief Executive Officer, Jet Airways.
In the first phase, the airline plans to connect more cities in North America and Europe by mid-2008, while in the second phase, it will start direct flights to African and Asian countries. "With newer routes opening up, destinations have become more reachable and there is an immense potential for growth. We have already dominated the domestic routes by connecting various cities across India in every five minutes and now it is time to rule the world by exploring new destinations," asserts Prock-Schauer optimistically. The airline operates over 355 flights daily across 44 destinations within India and it also operates flights to United States, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Singapore, United Kingdom, Canada, Thailand, Malaysia, Belgium, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Kuwait, Doha and Muscat.
Apart from Boeing aircraft, Jet Airways recently exercised an option of five Airbus 330-200s for delivery between October 2009 and the first quarter of 2011. It is replacing its fleet of small planes on profitable international routes with bigger aircraft. "We have already upgraded our services with Airbus A330-200 wide-body carriers on Malaysia and Singapore routes in December last year," said Prock-Schauer. It has a total of 60 carriers under its fleet - 53 Boeing, 7 Airbus and 7 ATR aircrafts.
While Jet Airways has confirmed that it will go ahead with their USD 400-million (Rs 1,582 crore) rights issue within the current fiscal year, given the unfavourable stock market conditions the airline is now mulling to raise money through other sources as well. "Our goal is to pursue the Rights Issue has not changed. However, we are looking at other routes of funding too," opined Prock-Schauer. The Indian private-carrier's rights issue would fund its fleet expansion plans and its last year's acquisition of Air Sahara.
To buy 10 Boeing 737, 777 series aircrafts by 2010
Saturday, January 26, 2008 (10:00 IST)
By Mayuresh Pawar | Mumbai
As part of their major expansion spree on international routes, Jet Airways is keen to spread its wings to various destinations - Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Zurich, Milan, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Vancouver, Tel Aviv, Johannesburg, Shanghai, Saudi Arabia, Hong Kong and Iran - by end of the year. The airline also plans to buy 10 more Boeing 737 and 777 series aircraft at an undisclosed price that will be utilised to connect long-haul flights on these routes. "We want to spread our wings to North America, Europe, Africa and Asia by end of the year and will be carrying it out in two or three phases," informed Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, Chief Executive Officer, Jet Airways.
In the first phase, the airline plans to connect more cities in North America and Europe by mid-2008, while in the second phase, it will start direct flights to African and Asian countries. "With newer routes opening up, destinations have become more reachable and there is an immense potential for growth. We have already dominated the domestic routes by connecting various cities across India in every five minutes and now it is time to rule the world by exploring new destinations," asserts Prock-Schauer optimistically. The airline operates over 355 flights daily across 44 destinations within India and it also operates flights to United States, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Singapore, United Kingdom, Canada, Thailand, Malaysia, Belgium, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Kuwait, Doha and Muscat.
Apart from Boeing aircraft, Jet Airways recently exercised an option of five Airbus 330-200s for delivery between October 2009 and the first quarter of 2011. It is replacing its fleet of small planes on profitable international routes with bigger aircraft. "We have already upgraded our services with Airbus A330-200 wide-body carriers on Malaysia and Singapore routes in December last year," said Prock-Schauer. It has a total of 60 carriers under its fleet - 53 Boeing, 7 Airbus and 7 ATR aircrafts.
While Jet Airways has confirmed that it will go ahead with their USD 400-million (Rs 1,582 crore) rights issue within the current fiscal year, given the unfavourable stock market conditions the airline is now mulling to raise money through other sources as well. "Our goal is to pursue the Rights Issue has not changed. However, we are looking at other routes of funding too," opined Prock-Schauer. The Indian private-carrier's rights issue would fund its fleet expansion plans and its last year's acquisition of Air Sahara.
