Jet Airways To Retire JetLite Brand

Tuesday, 1st July 2014 at 07:03am

India's ailing aviation industry has already claimed one airline in late 2012. The industry has not recovered yet and most existing players are still reeling from financial hardship due to losses and indebtedness.

One of the industry players mostly affected by the crisis is the Jet Airways group. Its low-cost subsidiary, JetLite, is barely ten years old since it was launched in 2007 but it will soon become extinct as the company has decided to integrate all its airline operations into a single unit. As a result, the JetLite brand as a low-cost carrier will no longer exist and all its planes will now sport the Jet Airways livery as part of a single-brand system.

The move was to cut operating costs and reduce huge losses due to stiff competition, as well as skyrocketing operating costs.

According to Jet Airways' Chairman, Naresh Goyal, they want to adhere to a single-brand airline in the hopes of winning back its customers who left them, purportedly due to confusion by their multiple brand system.

JetLite's planes will now be converted into two-class configuration�"business and economy classes. Though the airline's brand is dissolved, the pricing scheme will still be competitive, this according to James Hogan, Etihad Airways CEO. Etihad Airways holds a 24% stake in JetAirways.

India's air travel market is said to be one of the fastest growing in the world. However, most Indian carriers are losing money and accumulating debts, save for one player, IndiGo.

Jet has posted another loss for the sixth consecutive quarter, ending June 30, to the tune of Rs2.18 billion (roughly 35.6 million). The figure, though, was an improvement over the previous quarter when it registered a loss of Rs3.55 billion. This was primarily due to increase in revenue and the fall in financing costs.

By: Pete Lee.