Jet plans mulls merger of low cost services
27 Jul 2011
Mumbai: Jet Airways is mulling merging its low cost services, JetLite and Konnect, into a single low-cost brand. A senior airline official said the airline will eventually have a single brand in full service and in the low-cost category.
Jet Airways vice-president (investor relations) KG Vishwanath was speaking at a post-result conference call.
Jet Konnect is a low cost service launched by the airline two years ago. The low cost service option has worked as the carrier is able to use the same planes either in full service mode or as part of a low cost service, depending upon the market conditions.
Since Jet Airways and JetLite (earlier Air Sahara) have separate operating permits, transfer of planes from one to another brand would require regulatory approval. Instead of doing so, the airline decided to create another low-cost brand in the group.
It is estimated that 75 per cent of Jet's domestic services operate on the Konnect brand, but the figure varies on a seasonal basis.
JetLite, which was launched after the airline acquired Air Sahara, operates 110 flights daily, as compared to 170 Konnect flights.