Jet Airways debuts in continental Europe

Jet Airways today launched its debut flight from Brussels to India, becoming the first private Indian carrier to fly to and from continental Europe.

The flight to Mumbai was flagged off by the Indian ambassador to Belgium and the European Union Dipak Chatterjee from the Brussels national airport this morning.

Yesterday Jet Airways launched its first flight from Mumbai to the US with a two-hour stopover in Brussels.

The airline will fly from India through Brussels to Toronto on September five and to Johannesburg in November. Jet Airways established an operational hub in Brussels in May to provide enhanced connectivity between India, Europe, Africa and North America.

The airline has also entered into a codeshare agreement with Brussels Airlines -- Belgium's main carrier -- for flights from Brussels to Delhi, Mumbai, Toronto, Stockholm, Oslo, Birmingham, Geneva and Madrid.

The airline expects to expand the agreement to include 25 routes ex-Brussels, Bernard Guisset of Jet Airways Belgium said today.

Guisset, who heads the 35-people strong Europe office, added that the airline's future plans include 10 daily flights from Brussels to cities in India and the US, Canada and mainland Europe.

"Jet Airways was looking for an opportunity to combine its expansion plan to USA and Canada with an efficient hub in Europe together with a stronger national carrier offering a wide network ... We have found it all at Brussels," Naresh Goyal, chairman, Jet Airways, said in a statement.