Jet Airways launches non-stop flights to Manchester

Jet Airways, India's premier international airline, has commenced a new non-stop service between Mumbai and Manchester, further expanding the airline’s connectivity in the UK.

This new service is the first non-stop service connecting India, via its economic capital with Manchester, the third largest city in the UK.

With the launch of its fifth non-stop service to/from the UK, Jet Airways is now the largest carrier between Mumbai and the UK and Manchester, the 21st international destination on the carrier's network.

The airline's first flight to Manchester (9W 130) departed on schedule from Mumbai at 0230 hrs on November 5, operated by its modern wide-body A330-200 aircraft. The flight arrived at Manchester's Terminal 2 at 0755 hrs (Local time). The return flight (9W 129) departed from Manchester at 0935 hrs (Local time) and arrived at Mumbai's Terminal 2 at 0040 hrs.

Raj Sivakumar, senior vice president – worldwide sales and distribution, Jet Airways, said: "The launch of the maiden flight between Mumbai and Manchester is a proud moment for us. Guests travelling to the UK will now have multiple options to travel to destinations of their choice. Our new five days-a-week non-stop service brings Manchester into our global network, expanding our footprint as well as the choice of connectivity to and from the UK for our guests. The new service will enable Jet Airways to offer over 8,500 seats every week, making it increasingly convenient for business guests, leisure travellers as well as students, to travel between India and the UK, strengthening commerce as well as tourism ties between the two countries."

Sivakumar further said: "Manchester also becomes an additional gateway to North America with seamless connectivity to New York, Atlanta and other destinations with our codeshare partners Virgin Atlantic and Delta. Moreover, our Manchester based guests can seamlessly connect on Jet Airways’ flights to Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok and Colombo."

The new flight assumes even greater importance with the 'The Manchester-India Partnership' championed by the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, to help strengthen cultural and business ties between the two economies. The launch of the new service will also support with the recommendations of the UK Government, which has been promoting connectivity to other key cities in the UK, besides London Heathrow.

Since announcing the new service in May this year, the airline has been working to strengthen additional connectivity choices for guests arriving in Manchester, who can now connect onwards to North America and Europe or even within the UK, via flights with Jet Airways' partner carriers including Virgin Atlantic, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Air France and other interline partners. Jet Airways' guests and those of certain partner carriers will also be able to enjoy mutual earn and burn of miles on each other's frequent flyer programmes as per the agreement between the respective airlines.

Conversely, guests flying via Mumbai will be able to access Jet Airways' network of 46 destinations within India. Similarly, quick connections to beyond points on Jet Airways' international network such as Bangkok, Colombo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dhaka and Kathmandu, will now be available. Some of the domestic destinations to which the new service will seamlessly connect to from Mumbai include Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Aurangabad, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Bhuj, Chandigarh, Chennai, Coimbatore, Dehradun, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Kolkata, Nagpur, Raipur, Rajkot, Udaipur, and Vadodara.

The new service between Mumbai and Manchester is expected to be of special significance to business and leisure travellers, as also for a significant diaspora of people, including a growing Indian community residing in and around Manchester. The fast-expanding business and industrial hub also has one of the largest student communities in Europe, besides being extremely well connected to other major cities such as Liverpool, Leeds, Lake District and Sheffield, all within close proximity to Manchester.

Jet Airways' A330-200 aircraft with 254 seats including 18 in Première will operate on this new sector. The A330 is a world-class product providing the luxury of spacious seating in quiet cabins, where guests can experience Jet Airways' highly acclaimed in-flight service characterised by fine dining, together with a choice of their preferred meal as part of the 'Dine Anytime' concept. Guests can also enjoy endless hours of the airline's carefully curated audio-video programming comprising favourite Indian and international blockbusters, popular TV shows and TV Shorts, business news and audio compilations with the airline's award-winning Inflight Entertainment system – JetScreen.

Jet Airways has specially introduced inaugural JetEscapes Holiday packages from Mumbai to Manchester starting at INR57,350 ($787.6), wherein guests will be able to avail return air travel, airport transfers, hotel accommodation with breakfast, sightseeing, travel insurance (ex-India) and assured JPMiles on every booking.

The new service will complement the carrier's existing thrice daily non-stop services between Mumbai – London Heathrow, and a daily service between Delhi – London Heathrow. - TradeArabia News Service