Jet Airways, is likely to have daily services from Doha to Mumbai and Kozhikode, when operations start next January.
Sources in Doha said the general sales agent, Cleopatra Travels, was “trying to have daily operations” though no final decision had been taken.
India’s civil aviation ministry on Friday decided to grant traffic rights to Jet Airways on the India-Gulf/Middle East routes with effect from January 1.
Indian expatriates welcomed the decision. They feel a choice of carriers will at least improve the services, if not bring down the high fares in the sector. Although Qatar-India fares are regulated by the civil aviation authorities in this country, expatriates are hoping that fares would soon be determined by market conditions, as they are in many countries including the UAE.
According to the New Delhi decision, Jet can offer 2,100 seats to Qatar a week - 1,050 on the Mumbai-Doha route and 1,050 on the Kozhikode-Doha sector.
Jet could make a bigger impact in the Kozhikode sector, because the average daily quota of 150 seats is double the current availability.
Currently only state-owned carrier Indian offers a non-stop service to Kozhikode from Doha.
16/09/07 Gulf Times, Qatar
Monday, September 17, 2007