Kathmandu, April 14:

Jet Airways, India’s leading private airline, today began its flights to Hong Kong, becoming the first private Indian carrier to fly to a major business hub of South East Asia.

Jet Airways’ maiden flight 9W 42 to Hong Kong was flagged off by the airline’s CEO, Wolfgang Prock-Sch-auer, from Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, the Indian banking and financial community, states a press release.

“The successful launch of Jet Airways’ operations to Hong Kong is a tribute to the long hours and careful planning put in by our team. We believe that Jet Airways’ product on the Mumbai-Hong Kong sector is among the finest in its class and will be much appreciated by passengers tr-avelling on business betwe-en the two Asian financial hubs, as also those travelling for leisure,” said Prock-Schauer on the occasion.

The airline has deployed its Airbus 330-200 aircraft with a two-class configuration, Première and Economy on the sector. Première passengers will enjoy the comforts of Jet Airways’ unique herringbone seat configuration, which makes every seat an aisle seat. Besides converting to 180 degree flat beds with lumbar support and massage systems, Première seats also offer the busy business traveller oversized tables, laptop power, telephony, SMS, Email and live text news.

Economy passengers will enjoy seats more spacious than the norm and ergonomically designed to reduce stress and strain for perhaps the most comfortable ride in its class.

Jet Airways’ flight timings on this route have been planned to offer optimum convenience to the business traveler with an early morning arrival into Hong Kong and return to Mumbai/India by end of day, states the release.

With this launch, Hong Kong becomes the 16th international destination on Jet Airways’ rapidly expanding international route map. Jet Airways currently operates a fleet of 81 aircraft, which includes 10 Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft, 8 Airbus A330-200 aircraft, 54 classic and next generation Boeing 737-400/700/800/900 aircraft and 9 modern ATR 72-500 turboprop aircraft. With an average fleet age of 4.20 years, the airline has one of the youngest aircraft fleet in the world. Jet Airways operates over 380 flights daily.

Flights to 59 destinations span the length and breadth of India and beyond, including New York (both JFK and Newark) Toronto, Brussels, London (Heathrow), Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo, Bangkok, Kathmandu, Dhaka, Kuwait, Bahrain, Muscat and Doha.

The airline plans to extend its international operations to other cities in North America, Europe, Africa and Asia in phases with the introduction of additional wide-body aircraft into its fleet.