Jet to suspend second int'l flight, this time to New York

Jet Airways has decided to suspend its Brussels-New York flight, its second international route suspension within a month. The decision has been taken after five successive loss-making quarters putting a strain on its finances. The New York flight would be suspended from September 10, but the airline would continue with its Chennai-Brussels flight.

Jet Airways posted a consolidated loss of Rs 354 crore in the March quarter on the back of 40 per cent increase in fuel costs. International operations contribute about 60 per cent to the airline's revenue. While revenue grew 20 per cent to Rs 2,299 crore, international sector posted a pre-tax loss of Rs 105 crore. Its operating profit also fell and operating margin was down by 400 basis points. The weak results prompted the senior management to review its operations and withdraw loss making routes.

Last month, the airline announced the withdrawal of Mumbai-Johannesburg flight. Intense competition on this route from South African Airways and other Gulf carriers, and its inability to get passengers beyond Johannesburg led to losses for Jet. South African Airways has already announced that it is increasing frequency on this route to six weekly flights.

Jet Airways in a statement said, “In view of the current global economic conditions and its impact on business worldwide, Jet Airways today announced that as part of its ongoing network evaluation with a clear focus on profitability, it will be redeploying its assets on its existing route network. This has hence necessitated the temporary suspension of the airline’s Brussels-New York (JFK)-Brussels flight effective September 10.''

Jet will, however, continue to operate its daily flight on the Chennai-Brussels-Chennai route. Regular daily services also continue uninterrupted to two major gateways in North America, Newark and Toronto with its Mumbai-Brussels-Newark and Delhi-Brussels-Toronto routes, the airline said.

Air India, which is operating a truncated schedule, is also looking at route rationalisation. The civil aviation ministry has appointed a committee to examine route profitability and identify new routes.