Etihad fuels speculation over Australia route for Jet

Etihad fuels speculation over Australia route for Jet
By admin


Route expansion is on the cards for India’s Jet Airways once the airline is back on a “very solid footing” under its new equity partnership with Etihad, with an Australian route among the possibilities.

Speaking at the CAPA Aviation Summit in Sydney, chief operating officer Peter Baumgartner spoke of the challenges ahead for the carrier. The Abu Dhabi-based airline finalised a $330 million deal to purchase a 24% stake in Jet in November, following changes to India’s ownership laws.

“There is some homework to be done,” Baumgartner stressed, when questioned about a potential Australian route. But he pointed to “very encouraging early signs.”

“Bringing Jet Airways back to its past glories is the primary focus and everything else comes from it. That’s our first phase and network expansion follows from it, and yes, everything is possible.”

Speculation that Etihad was keen for the airline to consider direct flights between India and Australia emerged in September, as reported in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Meanwhile, Baumgartner reported a strong start for Etihad’s Perth service which took to the skies earlier this week.

“It’s not easy to exceed sales expectations, but with Perth we have,” he said.

He added that the impressive performance is also an indication of the ongoing success of the airline’s partnership with Virgin Australia, as he congratulated the Australian carrier on recent improvements.

“It was a fantastic end to end experience that showed their investment into lounge, investment into product.”

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