Washington, Jun 03: Expressing his desire to go international, Naresh Goyal, chairman of Jet Airways, said today that his airlines, if given permission, was ready to fly to Southeast Asian countries and earn valuable foreign exchange for the country. "An application for that from Jet Airways has been before the civil aviation ministry but whether it will be sanctioned will depend on government policy," he said celebrating 10 years of successful operations in India. He said that India today has 60 to 70 per cent unutilized routes and Jet Airways will be happy to obtain a part of that for its own benefit as well as that of the country.
If given permission, it would like to fly to Southeast Asia, including Singapore, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, and Gulf countries, he said adding, "We will be able to earn foreign exchange from tourism and it will help the economy."
Goyal said that last year, Jet Airways carried 6.4 million passengers. The revenue was Rs 3,000 crores out of which 30 to 35 per cent represented foreign exchange earnings. Goyal, who is here for an IATA meeting, said that all day yesterday he heard representatives of various airlines bewailing the dip in passenger traffic in the current state of the world economy.
He said that Jet Airways' revenues, too, dipped a little last year but with the introduction of apex fares, it was able to stabilize its earnings. The super apex fare will be offered from June 16 this year. Bureau Report