Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal has declared his intention to put the carrier among the top-five global airlines through a $3.7 billion investment over five years.
Launching the carrier’s new first class cabins, Goyal said: “The cabins represent a leap forward in our expansion plans.”
The cabins will be fitted on all aircraft operating Jet’s 27 weekly flights between Heathrow and Mumbai, Delhi, Amritsar and Ahmedabad over two years.
Parallel to the upgrade, the carrier will expand its long-haul fleet with the delivery of 20 new, widebody aircraft – 10 Boeing 777s and 10 Airbus A330s – before taking delivery of the first of 10 Boeing 787 Dreamliners in 2011.
It will look at expanding routes from Heathrow and commencing services from Manchester and Birmingham from next year.
Jet’s UK general manager Sarah Built declined to name likely destinations, but Bangalore and Chennai should be among them. “Everything at Heathrow depends on slots,” she said.
The carrier’s next expansion in Europe will be to Brussels, with Mumbai-US services launching via the city from August. First up will be a Mumbai-Brussels-New York Newark service, with New York JFK, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco to follow.
Jet has a codeshare agreement with Brussels Airlines to feed its network. The carrier is also completing the acquisition of Indian rival Air Sahara, which will be rebranded as JetLite.