OAG Travel News

Service pulled only weeks after start.
 
Jet Airways has decided to stop flying between Brussels and Bangalore in southern India.
 
The move to abandon the route is part of the Indian carrier's bid to restore profitability.
 
But the decision will come as a shock to many people as Jet only inaugurated it a few weeks ago.
 
Raja Segran, the carrier's VP for Europe and the Americas, confirmed to ABTN that the route will cease by January 12 next year.
 
Until then the carrier will continue to ply between Brussels and Bangalore four times a week, rising to a daily service over the busy Christmas and New Year period.
 
The news follows hard on the heels of Jet's decision to abandon its transpacific Shanghai to San Francisco service from January 13 next year.
 
It means that from early next year Bangalore will be left with only three direct air services from Europe: British Airways and Kingfisher from London Heathrow, Lufthansa from Frankfurt and Air France from Paris CDG.
 
"Right now all Indian airlines are losing money," Raja Segran said.
 
"So we are not immune. However we are probably doing better [than the others] and we are having to take measures [such as dropping the two above-mentioned routes] to come out of the financial crisis."
 
Jet's current schedule on the route sees 9W132 departing Bangalore at 0135 and arriving in Brussels at 0750.
 
Return service 9W131 leaves Brussels at 1010 arriving back in Bangalore at 0005 the next day.
 
Brussels acts as a hub for Jet Airways and so the flights to/from Bangalore neatly dovetail into onward Jet Airways transatlantic connections to New York and Toronto.
 
Jet's existing services from Brussels (to Mumbai, Delhi, New York and Toronto) will continue as before.
 
www.jetairways.com
 
Source: by Alex McWhirter www.abtn.co.uk