Jet to get new look, global image

Come mid-April, India's largest private airline, Jet Airways, will don a fresh look. The Naresh Goyal-promoted airline will have fresh internal and external livery for aircraft to reflect its new corporate image.

As part of international rebranding exercise, the airline's cabin crew will sport new uniform exuding freshness and warmth. Jet Airways is also expected to roll out a new international advertising campaign to reposition itself as a global carrier.

The global advertising initiative has been undertaken by international advertising house M&C Saatchi's India wing, while rebranding has been done by the US-based Landor Associates.

"Jet Airways is also considering a brand ambassador to have an international appeal," a source said.

This move comes at a time when Jet Airways is facing intense competition from domestic carriers such as Kingfisher Airlines and international carriers like Virgin Atlantic, Emirates and Continental Airways. The rebranding exercise gains significance as the company is planning to launch its much-delayed US service.

Sources said the carrier was also planning to advance its Mumbai-Newark (US) service to early July from August 15.

"The airline, as part of the rebranding, will be introducing the first-class in its B777 aircraft. The seats for the first, executive and economy classes would feature advanced technology supplemented with new inflight entertainment," the source said.

Christened "Global Launch", Jet Airways is set to make an announcement on its rebranding and new advertisement campaign next week in Mumbai.

When contacted, Jet Airways Vice-President (Marketing) Gaurang Shetty said the rebranding exercise had not been finalised and creative work for advertisements is yet to start. Noted Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, who is also a director on the Jet Airways board, is likely to be present at the global launch.

Apart from the Newark-Mumbai service, Jet Airways is also planning to connect Mumbai with San Francisco via Shanghai by October. Besides aiming at flying to Gulf destinations, Jet Airways is looking at several international destinations such as Canada; South Africa; Kenya; Mauritius; China; European cities such as Rome, Zurich, Munich, and Frankfurt; and certain points in South East Asia.

The airline is targeting 50 per cent of its revenue from international operations in the next three years. Jet has reported a 77.3 per cent load factor in February with 671 flights in that month.