Jet Airways Konnect, an all economy service run by Jet Airways (India), has increased the number of flights by over 60 per cent within a month of operation to 100 per day.

The increased frequency kicks in with effect from Monday. Konnect was launched with 62 flights on May 8, this year. On June 12, the Naresh Goyal-promoted carrier increased the flights further to 92. The steady month-on-month increase in flights is symptomatic of the pressure facing the struggling aviation industry in India that is desperately seeking to woo travellers with discount pricing. Jet, which is known as a premium airline, wants to limit the dilution of its brand equity and has therefore come up with a new brand to compete in price wars, industry experts said. Jet Airways also controls the economy carrier JetLite. Senior Jet Airways officials told Financial Chronicle that they are introducing Konnect services on price-sensitive routes where lower fares are likely to spur increased occupancy that could help the airline break even and perhaps even earn profits.

“The company has seen an increase in bookings by 35 per cent and the occupancy has also gone up from 50 per cent to 70 per cent for the low cost service,” said Ragini Chopra, vice-president – corporate communications, Jet Airways (India).

The company plans to add four Boeing 737-800 aircraft in a phased manner from June 16, 2009 for the Konnect offering. With the introduction of these new aircraft, Konnect will have a fleet of seven Boeing 737-800 and 10 ATR 72-500 aircraft.

Chopra said the airline has enhanced the capacity in the Boeing 737-800 aircraft by removing the business class seats. “Some aircraft will be able to seat 176, while some can accommodate around 168 passengers,” she said.

When asked, whether the company is planning to increase its fares due to

rising crude oil prices, Chopra said, “Nothing

has been decided on fare hikes. We are watching

the market condition based on which we will take a decision.”

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