Jet Airways

Jet Airways entry into Kathmandu makes it India's first private airline to operate to the himalayan kingdom

14 May 2004

As the Next-Generation Boeing 737-800 flight from Delhi in the distinct corporate livery of blue with the Flying Sun on its tail touched down at Kathmandu's Tribhuvan International Airport this afternoon, Jet Airways became the first private airline of India to commence operations to the Himalayan kingdom of Nepal.

The Nepalese capital, Kathmandu is the second international destination on Jet Airways' route network. Less than two months earlier, on March 23, 2004, India's premier domestic airline went International by launching a daily Boeing 737 flight between Chennai in South India and Colombo in Sri Lanka.

Today's maiden flight, 9W 4107 (Delhi-Kathmandu) took off at 1135 hrs with a full complement of passengers after an inaugural ceremony at Delhi's Indira Gandhi International Airport that was blessed by prayers and marked with festivity. The one hour, twenty-five minutes flight from Delhi landed in Kathmandu at 1315 hrs.

On deplaning, passengers including the senior Jet Airways Management team led by its Chief Executive Officer Mr. Wolfgang Prock-Schauer were extended a traditional, ceremonial welcome. The panchkanyas or the five maidens at the stepladders, performances by traditional dancers and musicians and the police band added to the festive spirit even as seven Brahmins sprinkled holy water on passengers passing through an especially erected bamboo gate.

The return flight 9W 4108 (Kathmandu-Delhi) departed Kathmandu at 1415 hrs to arrive in Delhi 1525 hrs.

These daily flights on the Delhi-Kathmandu-Delhi sectors connect well with Jet Airways' extensive domestic network, spanning 41 destinations with over 250 flights daily.

The daily Delhi-Kathmandu flight will provide immediate forenoon connections to passengers from Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Bangalore. The return flight from Kathmandu to Delhi will provide convenient onward connections to passengers travelling to Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Bangalore.

The one way Economy Class fare on the Delhi-Kathmandu sector is INR 4,265 and Club Premiere (Business Class) is INR 5,535. The return fare in the Economy Class is INR 8,155 and Club Premiere is INR 10,585.

Passengers can also avail of a special three-night/four-day Jet Escape package for just INR 8,969, which is inclusive of airfare, per person accommodation on twin-sharing basis, airport transfers and other incentives.

Jet Airways has a fleet comprising of 33 Classic and Next-Generation Boeing 737-400/700/800/900 aircraft and eight modern ATR 72-500 turbo-prop aircraft. With an average age of 4 years, as an operator of one of the youngest aircraft fleet in Asia, the airline operates over 255 flights daily to 43 destinations. Since inception on May 05, 1993 till end April 2004 Jet Airways has carried over 43.5 million passengers.

The benchmarks established by Jet Airways in the Indian skies have been acclaimed both nationally and internationally and include the 'Superbrand' status by the world's leading authority on branding the Superbrands Council in August 2003. In February 2004 Jet Airways swept the first edition of The Financial Express Business Traveller Awards for offering the 'Best Business Class', 'Best Economy Class' and 'Best Service (Airport & Inflight)' in the Domestic Airline category. Other coveted national and international awards include the first ever Galileo-Express Travel & Tourism Award for 'India's Best Domestic Airline' for 2003 and 2004, Boeing Company's honour for consistently maintaining the highest technical despatch reliability in excess of 99 per cent for 2002 and 2003, the leading business weekly, Businessworld's 'India's Most Respected Company in the Travel and Hospitality Sector' for 2003 and Travel Trade Gazette's (TTG) 'Best Domestic Airline Award' for 2002 among 14 countries in the Asia-Pacific region. The airline has also won the Air Transport World (ATW) 'Market Development Award' for 2001 for the best domestic airline, the Qimpro Gold Standard for 2001 and the Hospitality & Food Service (H&FS) 'Best Domestic Airline' award four times.

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