OREANDA-NEWS. March 19, 2012. As part of a strategic rebranding exercise, Jet Airways, India’s premier international airline, will consolidate its low fare service products under the JetKonnect brand to simplify the group’s service proposition and enhance brand recall. Thus, effective March 25, the erstwhile JetLite and Jet Airways Konnect services will operate under the JetKonnect brand, enabling guests to avail of a single superior in-flight product in the full service (Jet Airways) and low-fare (JetKonnect) categories.

 Jet Airways (India) Limited and JetLite (India) Limited, will continue as distinct business entities operating under their own airline operating permits.

 In an attempt to achieve brand consistency, JetKonnect will be the dedicated low fare service with a mixed fleet of Boeings and ATR aircraft to operate on metro, tier II and III routes.

 The aircraft will be duly painted in JetKonnect colours over time. JetKonnect will offer Premiere services on certain routes where guests may enjoy service identical to that enjoyed by Premiere guests on Jet Airways. This will be further expanded in a phased manner. The cockpit and cabin crew will don the same uniform as their counterparts from Jet Airways. Some JetKonnect flights will operate under the S2 code, while others will have flight numbers prefixed by the 9W code. 9W and S2 will also continue their existing Codeshare agreement enabling guests to enjoy seamless connectivity between India and the world.

 A gradual rebranding of the JetKonnect brand would be manifest on letterheads, the JetKonnect website, boarding passes, tickets, stationery. Signages at all check-in and ticketing counters will have dual branding reflecting the existing Jet Airways and the new JetKonnect logos. Difference in fares between the premier Jet Airways and JetKonnect will also be reflected on the website and all visible communication avenues. Economy guests onboard JetKonnect flights will continue to be offered a range of refreshments from Jet Cafe, JetKonnect's buy-on-board meal service.

 Effective March 26, 2012 guests to jetlite.com would be automatically redirected to the new, re-branded jetkonnect.com

 Commenting on the rebranding exercise, Sudheer Raghavan, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet Airways, said, “At Jet Airways, we see our brands as a set of differentiating propositions that help us connect with our guests. The Jet Airways Group has always been proactive in responding to our guests requirements and have demonstrated a flexible approach in devising products and services to meet customer needs. Given that our low-fare, high-quality all-economy product, Jet Airways Konnect has proved to be a successful model since its introduction in May 2009, we thought it best to consolidate our product in the low-fare segment with a single brand - JetKonnect, for enhanced brand recall.

 The decision was made to streamline our product portfolio and offer our guests a single superior in-flight product in the full service and low fare categories respectively, drawing synergies from the Jet Airways mother brand. The launch of brand JetKonnect is the culmination of a well coordinated effort.We are confident that this initiative will be well accepted by all our guests. The Jet Airways Group is continually looking at opportunities to optimally deploy and cross-utilise common resources of Jet Airways and JetLite wherever possible and this rebranding exercise will help further in synergising the airlines' collective operations.”

 Ticket sale for JetKonnect flights under the 9W code (2000 series eg 9W 2120) and S2 code (4000 series) will commence from March 20,, 2012, with travel validity from March 25, 2012 onwards. The availability ‘tag line’ would read ‘Operated by JetKonnect’ and the flight series would now be as follows: S2 (4 digit flight number / 4000 series) e. g. S2 4123 (OPERATED BY JetKonnect).

 The total number of flights by the Jet Airways group, which currently operates around 600 flights daily with a fleet of 120 aircraft, will remain unchanged.