Gateway Abu Dhabi’ to become a reality for Jet Airways

The deal between Jet Airways and Etihad and the increase in the number of flights Indian carriers can operate to Abu Dhabi will pave the way for Jet to create a ‘gateway in Abu Dhabi’ for expansion.

 After creating its first international hub in Brussels in 2007, Jet now plans to use Abu Dhabi as a gateway, as it looks to use the additional seats it has been allowed to operate from India to Abu Dhabi and onward.

Initially, the airline plans to connect 23, mostly Tier 2 and 3 cities in India, to Abu Dhabi, and then provide onward connections to Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Beirut, Amman and Cairo.

The airline will also provide connections to Nairobi and Addis Ababa in Africa and eventually to the US and Canada.

In North America, it will look at Newark, Chicago, Washington DC, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

A small beginning in the creation of the gateway at Abu Dhabi will be made on May 16, when the airline will launch a daily service from Kochi to Abu Dhabi and fly onward to Kuwait.

 “We can start calling it a gateway when three or four more onward flights become operational, which we see happening by the end of the year,” a senior Jet official told Business Line. The airline plans to deploy narrow-body aircraft, such as the Boeing 737, to connect smaller markets to Abu Dhabi and onward to West Asia and Africa, while wide-body aircraft — Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 — will be used to operate long-haul flights.

The airline plans to operate its own fleet to markets where there is huge traffic potential , while it will use its growing relationship with Etihad to pick up passengers from cities like Arbil in Iraq.

Brussels hub

At the moment, Jet Airways is silent about what will happen to the hub in Brussels.

 Officials from the airline say they will look to operate non-stop flights to Europe from India.

As for the hubs in Delhi and Mumbai, the officials maintain that these will remain domestic and foreign connection hubs.

Thanks to Delhi being a hub, they say, Jet has become the largest one-stop carrier between London and Bangkok.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/companies/gateway-abu-dhabi-to-become-a-reality-for-jet-airways/article4651163.ece