Jet launches new link to New York

With the launch of its Mumbai-New York flight (via Brussels) on Sunday, Jet Airways has joined the league of airlines in India eyeing transatlantic routes.

The national carrier Air India introduced its daily non-stop flight to New York only a few days ago on August 1.

Jet Airways also has plans to start flights to Toronto in Canada, as well as to the JFK airport at New York in September.

Flights on the Africa and Gulf routes will be introduced over the next two quarters of the current fiscal.

There are plans to address South East Asia too in a big way.

This is another important sector for the airline industry, said Mr W. Prock-Schauer, Chief Executive Officer of Jet Airways, speaking on the sidelines of the Mumbai-New York flight launch. “We would be looking at strengthening our presence in this sector. The introduction of wide-bodied aircraft from the beginning of next year would be one such step,” said Mr Prock-Schauer.

For the Mumbai-New York route, the airline would be flying its brand new Boeing 777-300 ER.

The flight will depart from Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport daily at 0210 hours and arrive at Brussels International Airport at 0740 hours. Taking off from Brussels at 0940 hours, it arrives in New York at Newark’s New International Liberty Airport at 1155 hours.

The airplane can carry 312 passengers in a three-class configuration — first-class, premiere class and economy. Excluding taxes, economy class return tickets start from Rs 40,000, and the premier return fares from Rs 1,53,000. First class return fares are priced between Rs 3,45,000 and Rs 4,15,000.

The airline claims its maiden flight on Sunday had a 100 per cent load factor.