The Hindu Business Line : Jet Air, Malaysia Air sign code sharing pact

Kuala Lumpur, Feb. 19 Jet Airways has signed a code sharing agreement with Malaysia Airlines and network-wide reciprocal frequent flyer partnership to provide customers with enhanced travel connectivity and privileges.

Malaysia Airlines and Indian Airlines have a similar agreement which will expire in December. Malaysia Airlines operates 32 flights from Chennai, Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Delhi to Kuala Lumpur, while Jet Airways has one flight connecting Mumbai and Kuala Lumpur.

Market share

Malaysia Airlines commands a market share of 34 per cent of the total traffic between both the countries and expects revenue to go up by Rs 20 crore, a growth of 10 per cent post the deal.

Jet Airways will now be offering Malaysia Airlines tickets to Kuala Lumpur through 42 networks across the country.

Ruling out a conflict of interest in Chennai from where the airlines operate, Mr Naresh Goyal, Chairman, Jet Airways, said: “Our customers will have a wider option. The idea behind the agreement is to complement and co-exist, not to conflict.”

About 5.50 lakh passengers flew from India to Malaysia in 2008 of which Malaysia Airlines carried 3.32 lakh, which is expected to grow by 53 per cent.

Dato’ Sri Idris Jala, Managing Director, Malaysia Airlines, said the deal will enable us to capture untapped traffic from secondary points in India through the five Indian gateways.

“Based on a modest estimate, we expect to capture about 10 to 12 per cent of the untapped potential traffic to Kuala Lumpur and beyond. This is valued at 10 to 12 million ringgit a year,” he added.

Both the airlines ruled out the possibility of adding more flights between both the countries as 30 per cent of Malaysia Airlines and 20 per cent of Jet Airways are still unsold.

Mr Goyal said the airlines will look into the possibility of connecting passengers from Gulf, Indonesia and the Philippines to Kuala Lumpur through India.

Accepting that the airline business is getting tougher with the global economic recession getting deeper, Mr Goyal said, “our target would be to cut cost and boost revenues through tie-ups such as the one with Malaysia Airlines.” Both the airlines did not reveal the details on revenue sharing through the deal.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
IFC to aid Bhutan’s Drukair

Aviation fuel not to be ‘declared goods’ now

Vizag airport new terminal to be opened tomorrow

SpiceJet denies cartelisation on domestic air fares

LS passes interim railway budget

Jet Air, Malaysia Air sign code sharing pact

MIC Elec gets nod for LED displays