JET Airways and Etihad Airways:

JET Airways and Etihad Airways: 

Committed to grow India's aviation industry

                  Jet Airways, India’s premier international airline, and Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates, have outlined plans to reinforce their long-term commitment to the growth of India’s economy and aviation industry, including a major new turnaround strategy for Jet Airways to return to profitability in three years.

The two airlines have been code share partners since 2008 and their relationship was strengthened in November 2013, after Etihad Airways received approvals to acquire a 24 per cent stake in Jet Airways, marking it the first investment by a foreign carrier in India’s airline industry.

The wide-ranging partnership has numerous advantages for travelers, including enhanced connections across the world through an expanded code share agreement, and reciprocal ‘earn and burn’ rights and tier level recognition on the Jet Privilege and Etihad Guest frequent flyer programs.

Jet Airways and Etihad Airways also stand to benefit from cost savings and synergies in areas such as fleet acquisition, maintenance, product development and training, and continue to explore collaborative purchasing opportunities for fuel, spare parts, insurance and technology support.

                       Focus areas for international operations will include network developments, including new services to markets such as Europe, China, Australia and Southeast Asia, expanded frequencies to existing routes and additional code shares. Jet Airways’ two and three class aircraft product will also be enhanced and the seat count optimized on wide-body Boeing 777 and Airbus A330 aircraft.

In addition, the domestic business model will improve connectivity across India and worldwide, while removing complexity in product and fleet, including the standardization and reconfiguration of the Boeing 737 fleet.

To initiate the three-year turnaround plan, the Jet Airways Board and management team have already worked with auditors to clean up its balance sheet and write down overvalued non-cash assets.

Jet Airways has announced a new team at the helm with Cramer Ball as its new Chief Executive Officer and Subodh Karnik as the Chief Operating Officer pending regulatory approval. Mr Ball 46, an Australian national, is a certified accountant and an accomplished airline executive with extensive experience in the aviation industry. Mr. Karnik brings with him rich experience in the aviation sector leading and assisting airlines in fleet and network planning, global alliances, joint ventures and improving overall efficiencies at international airlines.

The two airlines will commence a new marketing campaign tomorrow, with the tag line ‘Flying India Forward’, which highlights their collaborative offering for Indian travellers. Together, Jet Airways and Etihad Airways operate more international flights from India than any other airline, and provide unrestricted opportunities to earn and redeem miles on their integrated frequent flyer programs. The campaign will feature in newspapers, magazines, radio, online, and also airport displays in India.