Jet shifts European hub to Amsterdam
Gaurang Shetty, Wholetime Director, Jet Airways, speaks to on why Amsterdam as their new European gateway is the best move to offer greater choice to customers.
What was the reason to shift your European base from Brussels to Amsterdam?
We saw Amsterdam delivering far significant commercial proposition in terms of connectivity to both Europe and the US. Schiphol Airport is better for us in terms of passenger and cargo, as cargo makes a very important aspect of our business. It’s not about moving from one airport to another, it’s about delivering greater value.
The new daily flights from Mumbai and Delhi to Amsterdam is a significant step for Jet Airways and shows our continuous endeavour to provide greater choice and better connections for our guests. The new code-share with KLM and Delta Air Lines would enable us to offer connectivity to around 30 points in Europe and 11 destinations within the US and Canada. In addition, the spread that is on offer at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol offers access to more points and also provide minimum connecting time between carriers. Commercially we are able to offer customers a value for money by giving direct connectivity into each other’s network. It builds the entire commercial proposition and looks extremely attractive both in terms of passenger and cargo operations.
Elaborate on your code-shares in tandem with your partnership with Etihad?
We have close to 25 airline partners that we work with across all the alliances globally — Star Alliance, Oneworld and SkyTeam. We have code- shares on KLM and Delta Air Lines in Europe and the US and they have code- shares on us within India.
Our partnership with Etihad is very strong. We work very closely across all synergy areas. Today between Jet Airways and Etihad, we are one of the largest players going out of India. One out of every five customers flying out is flying with either of us.
Our load factors have always been in the high 80s all the time. However, I think that load factors are not the only indication of profitability. Running an airline is a high cost business and PLF is not the right parameter.