Jet Airways to use Bangkok as a gateway to Far East

Jet Airways, India's largest private airline, says it has selected Thailand as its base for expansion into the region and wants to take advantage of the opportunities it can harness from the expected boom in passenger traffic through the new Suvarnabhumi Airport. "We are looking to use Bangkok as the hub for the entire region due to the easy access we have from here and due to the government's policy of creating Thailand as the hub for the region," said V. Raja, vice-president of Jet Airways for Asia Pacific. The airline, which has fleet of 59 Boeing 737s and ATR72-500s, is set to launch its services from Bangkok starting on Jan 23, with two destinations in India, New Delhi and Kolkata. Jet Airways is set to price itself lower than the current market leader, Thai Airways International. "The importance we give to Thailand is evident by the fact that in the short history of the airline, this is the first time that we are starting two destinations in India from a single city on the same day," Mr Raja said.

Established in 1993, Jet Airways has grown rapidly thanks to the rise in traffic volume in India, a country that is becoming one of the region's second most attractive investment destination after China. "We will use Thailand as the base for all the countries in this region, especially neighbouring countries such as Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and going north to China, Hong Kong and more," he said. Jet Airways, which currently has services to countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, the United Kingdom, Nepal, and Sri Lanka, is looking to add more flights to the region and the first would be flights between India and China's booming business city of Shanghai. "Our operations in Singapore would likely cater to Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and New Zealand, but this office here is going to focus on the larger markets such as China," he said. Bangkok, Jet Airway's 50th destination, would see a new route added in the middle of next year, with a direct flight out of Bangkok on a daily basis. "The government's strategy of having a hub and spoke is something we think we would want to take advantage of," Mr Raja said, adding that the Suvarnabhumi airport's higher passenger handling capacity was among the key reasons for the decision to increase the company's presence here.

The company, which is set to price itself lower than the current market leader, Thai Airways International, says it would offer more services and amenities to its passengers than any other player in this sector. "Things such as meals, inflight services and inflight entertainment will be the key to our success," Mr Raja says. He added that his airline would be the only one in this sector offering a full range of inflight entertainment including personalised TV screens for all passengers, economy and business class. Jet Airways, he says, expects to see higher load factor after the initial launch with the initial target being 70% similar to those seen from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. Currently, Jet Airways offers flights to Chennai, Mumbai and New Delhi from Singapore, and to Chennai from Kuala Lumpur. He says that with more than 43 destinations it serves in India, the airline would be become the logical choice for customers flying for leisure or business to India. "We are going to work in every way to try to increase the presence in Thailand and will look at tapping all the markets, including the religious tourism that goes from Thailand to India," he says.

Jet Airways says that it will price itself slightly below what Thai Airways charges and would use a brand new Boeing 737-800 aircraft with winglets. Jet Airways chief executive officer, Wolfgang Prock-Schauer, said Bangkok would be the third destination that Jet would add from the region which is gradually strengthening its ties with India. He said that increasing economic relations between India and Thailand, had resulted in a marked increase in business and tourist traffic between the two countries, which requires enhanced connectivity. The current 11,000 seats per week allocated to the two counties have a high load factor and Jet Airways hopes to be able to tap this market and help increase the traffic flow further. Mr Prock-Schauer added that Jet Airways' Bangkok flights would not only link the two capital cities but also offer convenient early-morning connections to Bangkok and onward to other cities in Asean. Kolkata, on the other hand, will serve as the gateway to the Buddhist destinations in the eastern region of India.

The early-morning arrival into Kolkata from Bangkok would also provide convenient connections to other cities in India that are served by Jet Airways. The airline will depart New Delhi at 12:45 am and arrive in Bangkok at 6:35 am. On the return sector, it will depart Bangkok at 6:05 pm and arrive in New Delhi at 9:05 pm. The flight from Kolkata will depart at 11:55 am and reach Bangkok at 4:15 pm, while on the return sector, it will depart Bangkok at 9:20 am and reach Kolkata at 10:20 am. As part of its inaugural offer, Jet Airways has introduced a special return air fare of 7,800 baht on the Bangkok-Kolkata-Bangkok sector for a two-month period while economy-class fares start at 11,000 on the Bangkok-Delhi-Bangkok sector. The return airfare for Club Premiere (business class) for the Bangkok-Delhi-Bangkok sector ranges from 38,770 baht while on the Bangkok-Kolkata-Bangkok sector it is around 30,130 baht, but business class will have a complimentary companion ticket. These fares are exclusive of taxes and are only for a three-month ticket. Mr Raja says that as part of the effort to increase the traffic volume, the airline would look to offer more discounts for larger groups.

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