India is a vital business destination for many travellers and local carrier Jet Airways has brought innovation and dedication to one of the region’s most testing locales. Nick Walton speaks with Kolkata-born deputy general manager for Hong Kong & North Asia Paul Wu about emerging destinations, global expansion and comfort in the skies. 

How important are business travellers to Jet Airways?

Jet Airways has established itself as India’s premier international carrier. Business travellers form a critical segment of the air travel market. Their travel patterns and needs are far different. It represents a high value opportunity for airlines in a highly competitive environment. With increasing business and investments into India, this segment is witnessing strong growth.

The robust Jet Airways network, with convenient connections between key international destinations and Indian business centers, backed by our focus on service excellence and on-time performance, has made Jet Airways an automatic first choice for business travellers. The Jet Airways product bouquet on board has one of the best designed seats, delectable inflight cuisines and a wide selection of entertainment options.

Which destinations in India are you seeing growth among business travellers?

Over the last decade India has consistently been on the economic growth path. Today it is one of the fastest growing economies in the world. This has resulted in new growth opportunities for global and local business communities. While the early growth was witnessed in the metro cities, today several new emerging cities have joined the ranks. The top destinations on business travellers in India are Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune and Ahmedabad.

Jet Airways Boeing 777-300ER

What is the airline doing to gain a greater share of this competitive market?

Our focus is to differentiate our product and service. Jet Airways has been growing the business traveller segment on the strength of reliability of its overall proposition targeted at the seasoned business traveler. Our on-time performance has also been a key to guest satisfaction. We make every effort across all our customer touch points to ensure that the Jet Airways experience remains refreshing each time a guest flies with us.

The needs, aspirations and demographics of a business traveller is fast changing and the key is to remain relevant and contemporary especially in the way technology is leveraged to manage travel. This is aptly demonstrated in the recent launch of newly refurbished website Jetairways.com and launch of the mobile app for smart phones and other hand-held devices. While business travellers are increasingly going global, we are keeping step to cater to their requirements. For instance we provide information on our website in several languages with the option to transact in local currencies.

You grew up in India; how have you seen the destination change in terms of in-bound travel?  

India is a much sought after destination both for business and leisure travellers. From a business perspective, there seems to a renewed focus and aspiration. Several new initiatives such as “Make in India” have been unveiled to harness the unique demographics of a young and educated population. This, coupled with ongoing infrastructure development, is attracting the attention of global business. In-bound business travel to India has started moving onwards from conventional big metro cities to emerging cities with state governments announcing incentives to attract foreign investments.

Jet Airways’ Premiere class offers an office in the sky

Is Jetairways an Indian airline or an airline based in India but with its eyes further afield?

We take great pride in being an Indian carrier that connects India to the world. As a customer-focused airline, Jet Airways constantly endeavors to offer guests the best travel options on our domestic and international sectors. Jet Airways’ own network, combined with our strategic and codeshare partners, provides guests direct and connecting options through our primary hubs in Delhi and Mumbai and gateway points Abu Dhabi, Brussels, London Heathrow and Paris Charles De Gaulle. We offer our guests a strong proposition for seamless travel with world class in-flight service on board our state-of-the-art aircraft and matchless frequent flyer benefits for our JetPrivilege Members. For Jet Airways, this means the potential for continued growth in markets with strong demand characteristics and preference for Indian hospitality.

What are greatest challenges you face in developing the Asia market for the airline?

Air travel market in Asia is long sustaining and expected to grow exponentially. The challenge in such an environment is to remain relevant and to explore new opportunities to develop the market further. The market structure does have a strong element of price sensitivity and in this regard keeping the cost low without compromising on Jet Airways’ brand promise of product and service excellence will be the way forward to compete and grow effectively.

How are the expectations of business travelers changing?

Multiple flight options for travel flexibility is important to today’s business traveller. Access to the quiet comfort of a well-appointed airport lounge to optimize their time while on ground is another key differentiator. On board, the comfort of a flat-bed, access to communication and entertainment options and choice of cuisine are important aspects that a business traveller looks forward to. Business travellers seek convenient flight schedules and a comfortable experience so that they arrive refreshed at the destination.

Jet Airways has kept pace with the changing requirements of the business traveller and has emerged as an airline of choice for this segment. Moreover, Jet Airways’ award winning frequent flyer programme – JetPrivilege provides a true value add with a wide range of added benefits it offers to the frequent traveller.

Lie-flat beds in Premiere class

Do business travelers from Asia and the Sub Continent have different expectations? 

Business travellers the world over have similar expectations. In Asia and the sub-continent, business travelers tend to value personal interface at service touch points.