Jet Air adds Airbus 340-300E to fleet

Jet Airways on Wednesday inducted the Airbus 340-300E into its fleet for its long haul routes starting May 23, 2005, from Mumbai to London. This is the first of the three A340s-300E which are being inducted into Jet Airways' fleet up to June 2005.

Wolfgang Prock-Scahuer, chief executive officer, Jet Airways, said: "Airbus 340-300E is a state-of-the-art-aircraft which results in fuel efficiency and operational flexibility."

The plane, which will carry 239 passengers in a two-class layout, boasts of a flat bed seats and an inflight entertainment system complete with digital audio and video on demand to all seats. It also will offer the iXplorTM - the inflight tracking system that will let passengers track the flight's progress from their seats.

Jet Airways currently operates a fleet of 36 Boeings and 8 ATRs. Schauer stated that the induction of Airbus should in no way be considered an exit of the other two companies.

In fact, Jet will receive 10 Boeings by the end of the 2006 financial year, added Schauer. He also said that the company had no immediate plans for the A-380s.

The company stated that it flew 8 million passengers last year including to countries like Colombo and Kathmandu which was almost a 17 per cent increase from the previous year.