BANGALORE MIRROR OCT 13TH 2008
Jet to link Bangalore to Brussels
The airline plans to start direct flights from the city to its European hub by the end of this month
By Renuka Phadnis
Posted On Monday, October 13, 2008
Bangalore/Brussels: “We will link Bangalore to Brussels by the end of this month. But we cannot be blind to economic events. By October 31, if loads do not build up, we may postpone it slightly. But it is very much on the radar,” said Raja Segran, senior VP-Europe, Jet Airways. He was speaking at the ‘India Day in Flanders’, a buyer-meet-seller business
session held in Brussels, Belgium last week.
The date of the inaugural flight from Bangalore to Brussels may shift as it depends on the global financial situation, said Bernard Guisset, sales support manager - Continental Europe, external communications, Jet Airways (India) Ltd. He was speaking to Bangalore Mirror at the Jet Airways lounge in Brussels.
The Bangalore traffic is dependant on Bangalore-USA passengers, who fly to US via Brussels. “We are trying to market Belgium not only as a transit destination but also as a place to stay,” he said.
Guisset sees the global financial crisis encouraging travel from India to Europe. More European businesses will look toward countries such as India as the latter provides quality low cost services. This factor, in turn, would drive more travel, which means more customers for carriers, he said. At present, 50 per cent of Jet Airways’ revenues come from India, 30 per cent from Europe and 20 per cent from the US, said Guisset.
Jet Airways has a lounge in Brussels Airport, the only one it owns, spread over 522 sq ft with 50 seats for business class and 20 for first class passengers. Economy class passengers can also use the lounge if they are ‘Frequent Flyer’ members.
Sunil Puri, MD, Mileage Communications, which represents Tourism Flanders in India, and Pooja Razdan, marketing coordinator, in a presentation said that outbound travel from India was expected to touch about 9.5 million in 2008, with an estimated growth of 15-20 per cent per annum. Of this number, 60 per cent are business travellers and 40 per cent leisure.
Visa delays
M K Lokesh, Deputy Chief of Mission of the Embassy of India in Belgium, said the major impediment to Indian tourists travelling to Belgium was the delay in getting visas. “Till Indians get visas quickly, the full potential cannot be exploited,” he said. “However, the Belgian government is trying to market itself. Talks are on at senior government levels for issuing visas quickly,” he said. The King of Belgium would visit India soon with a high level delegation including representatives of business and education, he added.
(This correspondent was in Brussels, Belgium at the invitation of Jet Airways and Tourism Flanders)
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