Jet Airways introduced yesterday, 10 December 2007, its widebody Airbus A330-200s into Singapore on the Singapore-Delhi route. By 21 December 2007, Jet Airways will upgrade all its thrice daily services between Singapore and India to the A330-200 aircraft, increasing the airline’s total capacity on such routes by 60% to meet the rising demand on its flights. The aircraft is configured with 30 exclusive Première Class seats and 196 seats in Economy.

This would help cater to more than 730,000 visitors from India who are expected to visit Singapore in 2007, a growth of about 13% from 2006. According to the Singapore Tourism Board, visitor numbers from India grew 12.8% to 615,732 from January to October 2007, versus the same period last year. Arrivals in 2006 also increased 12.9% from 2005. Given this steady growth, Jet Airways plans to increase services to Singapore up to five times daily by the second quarter of 2008, clearly indicating its intention to make Singapore a key gateway in Asia.

Chairman Mr. Naresh Goyal intends to propel Jet Airways into the echelons of the top five airlines in the next few years, spreading its wings globally with its modern fleet, fast-growing worldwide network, product excellence and high quality services.

“These are exciting times for Jet Airways as we expand internationally in our constant endeavor to be one of the top five airlines in the world. The South-East Asia market has always been important with the passenger traffic constantly increasing. With our modern fleet, premium products and services and passionate people, our customers will truly experience the joy of flying,” said Mr. Sudheer Raghavan, Executive Vice President Commercial, Jet Airways.

Mr. Tan Lye Teck, Deputy Director-General of Civil Aviation, Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS), noted that Jet Airways' introduction of the new A330 aircraft on its flight services to Singapore came at 'an opportune time of robust growth in passenger traffic' between India and Singapore. “Passenger traffic between our two countries reached 2 million in 2006, representing an impressive growth of 20.3% compared with the previous year.”

This strong growth has continued into 2007, with passenger traffic increasing by close to 16% in the first 10 months of this year, compared to the same period in 2006," said Mr. Tan.

The new widebody A330 will replace Jet Airways’ Boeing B737-800, an aircraft which has only been servicing the Singapore-India route for just slightly over a year.

Jet Airways today operates over 350 international and domestic flights daily, making it one of the world’s most active carriers in its category. It has spread its wings even further by recently launching international services to North America, which include New York (2x daily) and Toronto (daily flights). And by 2008, the airline plans to add San Francisco as well as expand to points in the Middle East, Nairobi and Johannesburg.