Indian airline carrier Jet Airways, on October 15, 2012, said that it has configured all of its 75 JetKonnect Boeing 737’s with a twin class configuration. The airline will now offer eight business class seats on every aircraft so as to meet the demands of an indifferent market.
According to industry experts, the recent change by Jet is to cash in on the gap which is created by Kingfisher Airlines due to its absence on many routes. The experts are of the opinion that the move will help in boosting the airline’s bottom line.
Jet on the other hand, says that the recent move has been taken based on the economy, and flyer feedback. Sudheer Raghavan, the chief operating officer said, “The Kingfisher Airlines effect has been in the market for a year and a half now, but those are minor things. Our decisions are not based on those considerations”.
Raghavan also said that through the big players are beating down the economy, they are very optimistic about it. The CEO also said that it is just a matter of the conversion of un-utilized real estate to premium real estate, as the seat utilization on any flight will not be more than 80%. He went on to say that it would make sense for the airline to convert that 20% to 30% of un-utilized seating so that their bottom line would be boosted.
