Jet Airways to stop Konnect service from December 1

Airline's chairman Naresh Goyal announced scrapping of the no frills service citing brand confusion amongst customers

Jet Airways will stop its no-frills service, Jet Konnect, from December 1, offering a single, full-service product on its entire domestic network, Chairman Naresh Goyal has said. He added this was due to brand confusion among customers.

On Thursday, the airline announced all passengers booking flights on or after September 15 for travel on or after December 1 would enjoy a full-services experience on all domestic Jet Airways and JetLite aircraft.

“The enhancement into a uniform, full-service, single brand will include a complementary meal service on board all flights, for travel effective December 1. The buy-on-board service would be discontinued, the airline said. Members of the airline’s frequent flyer programme will earn JPMiles, in line with the accrual structure for full-service flights.

Jet Konnect was launched to compete with low-cost airlines. However, it has been unable to improve loads, with the twin-brand strategy leading to confusion among passengers.

Currently, Jet Airways operates a full-service and a no-frills brand, under two operating permits —under the Jet Airways permit, it offers full-service, as well as the Konnect service, while under the JetLite permit, it only offers Konnect services.

Under the Jet Airways permit, it operates 270 domestic flights; about 60 per cent of these offer no-frills services. Subsidiary JetLite has 12 aircraft.  Jet Airways said the switch to a single, full-service brand would result in high-quality services and operational flexibility. The airline is also reconfiguring all Boeing 737 aircraft, offering a standard configuration of 12 business class and 156 economy class seats.