JET AIRE: United States (1985-1986). This short-lived third-level operator is founded at Albuquerque in the first week of January 1985 to provide scheduled passenger and cargo intrastate flights to Las Cruces, Santa Fe, and Taos. Employing a pair of Handley Page HP 37 Jet-streams, daily or weekday flights are inaugurated on January 16 to Las Cruces.
The route network is extended to Carlsbad and Clovis during the remainder of the year, but financial shortfall forces the new entrant to cease operations on January 14, 1986.
JET AIRWAYS (PTY.), LTD.: SM Center, 1st Floor, Andheri-Kurla Road, Andheri (East), Bombay, 400 059, India; Phone 91 (22) 8215080; Fax 91 (22) 821-5631; Http://www. jetairways. com; Code 9W; Year Founded 1992. JAL is founded at Bombay on April 1, 1992 to operate domestic services throughout the subcontinent. The privately owned carrier is a wholly owned subsidiary of Naresh Goyal’s Isle of Man-based holding company Tailwinds, Ltd.
With initial capitalization of $10 million, Goyal becomes chairman with Peter Roberts as CEO and Saroj Datta as executive vice president. A fleet is assembled comprising 4 Boeing 737-33As dry-leased from Ansett Worldwide, Ltd. for three years. An agreement is concluded with SABRE for computerized reservations system services.
Revenue operations begin on May 5, 1993 and link the company’s base with Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Baroda, Calicut, Coimbatore, Cochin, Goa, Delhi, Hyderabad, Madras, and Mangalore. During the next 7 months, a total of 438,204 passengers and 1.9 million FTKs will be transported.
The airline becomes an associate member of IATA in July. In August, plans are announced to sell 40% shareholding to Gulf Air, Ltd. and Kuwait Airways Corporation, Ltd., with each of the Mideast airlines obtaining 20% interest.
Airline employment is increased by 28.8% in 1994 to 1,561 and during the first quarter JAL operates 13 daily flights to 11 destinations. In May, a B-737-4H6 is leased from Malaysia Airlines, Ltd. (MAS) which, under contract, agrees to provide maintenance, technical, and training support.
The frequent flyer program Jet Privilege is launched on July 4. Five new cities join the route network during the year, as David Wookey becomes managing director.
Enplanements for the first full 12 months total 1,067,162 and 6.98 million FTKs are flown.
The workforce grows again in 1995, up 19.8% to 1,860. Another B-737-4H6 arrives from Malaysia Airlines, Ltd. (MAS), along with two B-737-4Y0s chartered from a private leasing concern. The extra capacity will help traffic to dramatically improve as will a new connecting agreement signed in August with KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines, N. V.).
Passenger boardings jump 31.3% to 1,480,724 while cargo rises 61.2% to 11.27 million FTKs.
A total of 83 flights per day are operated in 1996 to 23 destinations. Many of these provide connections not only to KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines, N. V.) but to Kuwait Airways Corporation, Ltd.; indeed, the arrangement with the latter comes to account for 80% of KAC’s feed from the Indian interior.
On August 28, it is announced that a reciprocal frequent flyer program will begin with British Airways, Ltd. (2) on November 1.
In December, the carrier becomes the first in Southeast Asia to order the Boeing 737-800 when it places a requisition for six, along with four more B-737-400s. The request is valued at $486 million and when delivered they will be the first provided to an Indian start-up since the advent of deregulation in 1993. The company’s twelfth “Baby Boeing, “ a Dash 500, is now received.
Enplanements increase 46.8% to 2,172,561 and 15.88 million FTKs are operated, a 40.9% increase. Revenues jump 33% to $200 million.
Airline employment in 1997 is 1,860. JAL is now the second largest domestic airline in India and a serious threat to Indian Airlines, Ltd. Destinations served from hubs at Bombay and Delhi include Baroda, Ahmedabad, Pune, Goa, Mangalore, Calicut, Cochin, Trivandrum, Coimbatore, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Aurangabad, Indore, Jaipur, Jammu, Sringar, Bagdogra, Calcutta, Guwahati, Jorhai.
During January, lease and purchase orders are placed for 10 B-737s, 4 Dash-400s and 6 Dash-800s. Arranged by ANZ Grindlays, this is the first direct deal between a private Indian airline and a manufacturer. A total of 85% of the $325 million required for acquisition of the first 4 is guaranteed by a loan from the U. S. Export-Import Bank.
Indian Airlines, Ltd., together with the nation’s domestic airlines, appeal an earlier ruling by the Indian Foreign Investment Board that foreign airlines might take significant shareholding in domestic carriers. This results in the issuance of a new aviation policy in mid-April from Civil Air Minister C. M. Ibrahim and Prime Minister H. D. Deve Gowda’s United Front cabinet. Simply put, the new decision prohibits investments in Indian domestic carriers by foreign airlines, although groups from outside the aviation business may continue to acquire or hold up to 40% of the stakes in domestic carriers. The government decision halts Singapore Airlines, Ltd. plans to join with the Tata Corporation in forming a rival to Indian Airlines, Ltd., the action that had set off initial government concern.
The ripple effect from the cabinet ruling impacts Jet dramatically. Company officials are informed by Minister Ibrahim that Gulf Air, Ltd. and Kuwait Airways Corporation, Ltd. have six months to divest themselves of their stake. During September and October, Chairman Goyal negotiates a buyout of the shares held by both of his foreign investors.
The first of the four new B-737-400s arrives in October and enters service during the first week of November. By mid-month, JA is operating a total of 118 daily frequencies and transporting a quarter of India’s domestic airline traffic. Two more B-737-400s arrive in December.
Customer bookings soar 34.8% to 2,298,796 while freight shoots upward 25% to 19.85 million FTKs.
The fleet at the beginning of 1998 includes 4 B-737-33As, 2 each B-737-4H6s and B-737-4S3s, 3 B-737-4Y0s, and 1 B-737-5Y0. Orders remain outstanding for 4 B-737-700s and 6 B-737-800s.
Destinations visited now include Ahmedabad, Aurangabad, Bagdo-gra, Bangalore, Bhuj Rajkot, Calcutta, Calicut, Chennai, Cochin, Coimbatore, Delhi, Goa, Guhhawati, Hyderabad, Imphal, Indore, Jaipur Jammnu, Johart, Mangalore, Mubai, Port Blair, Pune, Srinagar, Trivandrum, and Vadodara.
During the first quarter, a special offshore company is established in the Cayman Islands to handle the financing for purchase of the 10 requested Boeing jetliners. Two B-737-33As are returned to their lessor in April upon completion of their charter term.
Despite the announcement by Sahara India Airways, Ltd. that it will deeply discount its fares, Jet, on March 26, indicates that it will not cut costs on key routes. The decision is taken after Indian Airways, Ltd. also decides against chopping fares. Indian, instead, will increase frequencies, offering hourly shuttle flights between Delhi and Bombay.
At the beginning of the second quarter, the company completes installation of the automated Codeco Departure Control System in twelve of its station networks.
On May 5 it is announced that during the past five years the company has signed interline agreements with 104 major international carriers that fly in and out of India.
Daily B-737-400 roundtrips commence on May 20 from Calcutta to both Imphal and Guwahati and from Bombay to Bhavnagar. By month’s end, the fleet includes 22 aircraft: 16 B-737-400s and 6 B-737-500s.
On December 15, the Civil Aviation Ministry announces that Jet is one of several carriers to have completed installation of airborne collision avoidance systems (ACAS) on their aircraft before a December 31 deadline to do so.
Passenger boardings surge 40% to 4.2 million. Revenues total $380 million.
Early in January 1999, a B-737-71Q is received and enters service. Three more remain to be delivered. In addition, new CEO Nikos K. Kar-dassis, a 17-year veteran of Trans World Airlines (TWA) and KLM (Royal Dutch Airlines, N. V.), who has been with Jet since August 1994, arranges to lease three Avions de Transport Regional ATR72-202s from Air Liberte, S. A. The three turboprops are delivered in February and March.
A fare war is started by Sahara Airlines, Ltd. on April 1 over the lucrative Delhi to Bombay route. Sahara offers thrice-daily service compared to Indian Airline, Ltd.’s 10 flights, but all are deep-discount, no frills offerings. JAL, which operates eight flights either way between the two cities, is forced to join in.
On April 16 the problems of the nation’s airlines take a back seat when the Hindu nationalist government of Prime Minister Vajpayee loses a vote of confidence in Parliament and collapses. Still, The Times of India reports in this day’s issue that, to compete with Jet and Sahara Airlines, Ltd. in the fare war, the contest may be spread as Indian Airlines, Ltd. pumps additional capacity onto the routes from Bombay to both Chennai and Bangalore.
On April 28, the carrier signs a multimillion-dollar agreement with SABRE for the licensing of the information technology provider’s airport check-in and load control system (ASCI) and its flight operating system (FOS).
Indian Airways, Ltd. refuses to engage in the upgrades of its rivals and continues to push its new shuttle service and to stress “on-time” performance. The May 18 issue of The Times of India reports that Sahara India Airlines, Ltd. is offering a five-star bed-and-breakfast add-on with tickets purchased for Bombay and Chennai, while Jet, having linked up with ITC hotels, offers domestic passengers a 20% discount on overnight accommodations.
As the result of Indian Air Force raids on “guerrilla” positions in Kashmir that begin on May 25, the capital airport of Srinagar is shut to commercial traffic, forcing JAL to suspend its thrice-daily service.
An order, valued at approximately $550 million, is placed on June 24 for 10 Next Generation B-737-800s; announced at a joint Paris Air Show news conference with Boeing, the request will be filled beginning in 2001.
CEO Kardassis suddenly resigns “for personal reasons” on July 7 and is succeeded by Executive Vice President Saroj K. Datta.
A marketing agreement is signed with British Airways, Ltd. (2) on July 28. Under its terms, the frequent flyer programs of the two carriers are linked, while passengers flying on both airlines are granted through-check-in.
On August 9, Chairman Goyal, in an interview published in The Times of India, calls for an end to the fare war on the Delhi-Bombay sector. The airline leader also takes the opportunity to note that his ATR72-202s will, beginning in October, boost company traffic on its trunk routes by bringing in passengers from smaller towns.
Plans are announced on August 23 for the creation of an aviation academy where company staff will be trained, as well as the establishment of an engineering and maintenance unit.
Permission is received on June 23 for the import of five ATR72-520s, which will be leased from the French concern Aircraft International Renting, S. A.
Fares on the twice-daily roundtrip route between Bombay and Ahmedabad are reduced by Indian Airlines, Ltd. on August 15. Tarriffs are also reduced on the routes from Bombay to Calicut, Mangalore, and Cochin.
On September 1, competing Jet reduces the cost for flying its thrice-daily return service between the two points, heating up a continuing fare war with the state carrier. The next day, the last of three Next Generation B-737-85Rs to be received during the year is delivered.
A group of Indian journalists is given a demonstration flight at Toulouse on September 26 aboard the new ATR72-520 that is about to be turned over to Jet.
The first new ATR42-520 is received on October 4 following a three-day delivery flight from Toulouse, France. On October 15, the new highwinged turboprops, the first of their type in India, inaugurate frequencies to smaller towns and tourist centers in the northern, southern, and western portions of the country.
The second and third ATRs are delivered in November. The new aircraft allow expansion of the carrier’s feeder routes to Udaipur, Keshod, Porbandar, Chandigarh, Bhavanagar, Diu, Belgium, Visakhapatnam, and Tirupati, in addition to new daily connections from Bombay, New Delhi, Bangalore, and Hyderabad.
A mistaken command by a controller at the Nagpur ATC center on December 2 nearly causes a midair disaster. While en route from Bangalore to New Delhi, Flight 812, a Jet Airways, Ltd. B-737-33A, is asked to ascend from 26,000 ft. to 35,000 ft. through airspace where Flight 540, an Indian Airlines, Ltd. A300B2, is flying from New Delhi to Chennai at 29,000 ft. Fortunately, the TCAS equipment of both aircraft activates and a collision is avoided.
Passenger boardings for the year increase 21.4% to 4,870,000 (32% of the domestic market), while 37.59 million FTKs are operated. Operating revenues surge 18.9% to $440 million.
Airline employment at the beginning of 2000 stands at 4,230, a huge 83.9% increase over the previous 12 months. The B-737 fleet now includes 4 Next Generation Dash-71Qs, 2 NG Dash-86Ns, 4 NG Dash-85Rs, 2 each Dash-4H6s, Dash-497s, and Dash-48Es, and 4 Dash-45Rs.
Flight 605 for Jammu is cancelled on January 4 after a bomb threat against the carrier is received at Palam; despite a four-hour search, no explosives are found. Fog and a strike by ground staff cause cancellations and delays on January 5-7. Two Next Generation B-737-85Rs are now received, one each on January 21 and February 29.
Former Trans World Airlines (TWA) Vice President S. Forte is named the carrier’s new CEO in early March.
The last two ATR42-520s arrive in March and April, respectively. New Delhi, Bangalore, and Madras each receive one of the new European turboprops and two others are stationed at Bombay. The company now flies to 40 destinations, compared to 23 just 4 years earlier.
With the introduction of the summer schedule, new daily return service is inaugurated between Bangalore and Goa, with convenient links from the former to Hyderabad and Coimbatore. On April 16, Bombay to Madura daily roundtrips begin, along with similar ATR frequencies from Bangalore to Kochi and Coimbatore and from Hyderabad to Chennai, Vishakapatnam, and Tirupati. The B-737 jetliner return frequencies from Bombay to Hyderabad are boosted from three to five every day while those from Bangalore to Chennai are now offered five times a day. Those from Bombay to Calicut and Jaipur are withdrawn.
After weeks of speculation, Jet issues a statement at the end of August indicating that it will not seek equity holding in the Air India, Ltd., which is being privatized by the government. A Next Generation B-737-85R is delivered on September 2 and a B-737-76N is received on September 29.
Tragedy almost strikes on October 1. While climbing to FL370, the TCAS of Flight 701, an Indian Airlines, Ltd. A320 en route from Calcutta to Dibrugarh, sounds a warning that it is near Jet Flight 207, a Next Generation B-737-800 cleared to climb to FL350, the TCAS of which is also screaming. Both pilots take corrective action and avoid meeting head-on in an area over the Bangladesh border
Also on October 1, the government invites expressions of interest (EOI) in lA from those Indian or nonresident Indian companies willing to purchase a 26% equity stake. It willfully excludes Jet Airways by inserting a clause in the EOI document prohibiting scheduled Indian air transport operators from applying in order “to maintain a competitive environment.”
To help cope with rising fuel prices and an increase in landing and navigational charges payable to the Airports Authority of India, fares are increased approximately 10% on October 10. The boost is less than the previously announced 18%-20% primarily because principal competitor Indian Airlines, Ltd. has chosen not to revise its fare schedule.
The year’s last Next Generation B-737 is a Dash-76N delivered on December 20. On January 29, Jet will be named recipient of the 2000 “Market Development Award” from Air Transport World magazine.
World History
