Jet seeks landing slots at Heathrow, Changi

Outlays an ambitious plan to have a major international presence.

India's largest private airline Jet Airways has drawn up an ambitious blueprint to become an international carrier flying to major destinations in five continents.

As part of its plan Jet has already written to find out whether landing slots will be available in cities around the world, including London, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Bangkok. It states in its letters that it expects to start operations from the winter of 2004.

In the first year of operation Jet Airways plans to fly over 112 flights a week from India to various international destinations. In the second year it will increase the frequency to 224 flights a week, in the third year it hopes to fly over 238 flights a week.

The airline is looking at flying to many of the world's top destinations, including London, Paris and Frankfurt in Europe. In North America it is looking at flying to New York and San Francisco. In southeast and west Asia it is looking at Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai, Kuwait, Sharjah, Doha, Jeddah and Bangkok.

In the letters about slots Jet has clearly stated that it has not yet been designated by the Indian government to fly to these destinations. However, it states that it is, "hopeful that there will soon be changes to India's civil aviation policy".

The airline has indicated in its letters that it is looking at flying from different Indian cities. For instance, in its letter to Singapore Airlines, it has requested three slot pairs in Singapore for flights from Mumbai, Chennai, and Delhi to the city state.

Similarly, in its letter to Malaysia Airlines it has requested one slot pair at Kuala Lumpur. It has also asked for two slot pairs in Bangkok for flights from Mumbai and Delhi. Jet has also applied for two slots daily at Heathrow, London. To begin with, it plans to fly from Mumbai and Delhi to Heathrow.

In another letter to authorities in the UK it has stated that it is hopeful that by August 2004 it will be able to forward all the authorisations from the Indian government so as to allow the airlines to commence operations.

Jet Airways executive director Saroj K Datta explains its moves saying that: "Since we have no indication as to which routes the airline may be allowed to operate we are studying various possibilities including routes to the Asean, UK, Europe, US and the Gulf."

He further points out that the company, in anticipation of a change in policy, is undertaking in-house studies to assess the market potential of various routes, city pairs and their economic feasibility.

Dutta points out that one essential ingredient of such studies is to assess the slot availability situation as this will enable them to understand the commercial implications of the timings available at which they can plan their services.

As an information gathering exercise Jet has made slot applications to various airports indicating the likely dates of operation as winter 2004 and summer 2005.

But he points out that specific plans will be finalised only after the policy announcements are made by the government, the necessary rights negotiated (if required) or allotted and Jet Airways designated as an Indian carrier.

The Indian government has been contemplating on opening up the international skies to domestic private airlines in markets like the Gulf, UK, US and Asean region.