Jet Airways
1992–2005: Inception[edit]
Jet Airways was incorporated as a limited liability company on 1 April 1992. It started operations as an air taxi operator on 5 May 1993 with a fleet of four leased Boeing 737-300 aircraft. The airline was granted a scheduled airline status on 14 January 1995.[3] On 12 May 1994, all the shares were transferred to Tailwinds International, whose equity capital was held by Naresh Goyal (60%), Gulf Air (20%) and Kuwait Airways (20%). In October 1997, as per the directive of Ministry of Civil Aviation forbidding foreign investment in passenger airlines, Goyal took control of the entire company.[3] The airline launched its first international flight in March 2004 from Chennai and Colombo. The company was listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and became public on 28 December 2004, with Goyal retaining 51% ownership of the stock.[3][9]
2006–2009: Growth and expansion[edit]
In January 2006, Jet Airways announced its intention to acquire Air Sahara for US$500 million in an all-cash deal; however, the deal fell through in June 2006. On 12 April 2007, the deal was back on track with Jet Airways agreeing to pay ₹14.5 billion (US$220 million).On 16 April 2007, Air Sahara was renamed as JetLite and was marketed between a low-cost carrier and a full service airline. JetLite became a wholly owned subsidiary of Jet Airways. In August 2008, Jet Airways announced its plans to integrate JetLite into Jet Airways.[14] In October 2008, Jet Airways laid off 1,900 of its employees, who were later re-instated due to intervention from the Ministry of Civil Aviation.[ In October 2008, Jet Airways entered into an alliance with rival Kingfisher Airlines for code-sharing on domestic and international flights, collaboration on frequent-flyer program and sharing crew and ground handling equipment. On 8 May 2009, Jet Airways launched another low-cost brand, Jet Konnect. It operated a fleet of Boeing 737 Next Generation and ATR 72 aircraft and operated on profitable short-haul routes with higher passenger load factors.[19][20]
2010–present: Consolidation[edit]
In the third quarter of 2010, Jet Airways became the largest airline in India with a passenger market share of 22.6%.[21] In July 2012, the airline officially sought government approval to join Star Alliance.[22] In June 2011, it became the first domestic airline in India to ban meat products and liquids in check-in baggage.[23] Jet Airways merged the JetLite brand into Jet Konnect on 25 March 2012 and started offering business class seats after the shut down of Kingfisher Airlines.[24][25][26] In 2013, Etihad Airways planned to buy a stake in the airline following the government's announcement in September 2012 that foreign airlines could take a stake of up to 49% in Indian carriers. On 24 April 2013, Jet announced that it was ready to sell a 24% stake in the airline to Etihad for US$379 million.[27][28] The deal which was expected to be signed in January 2013 was postponed and was completed on 12 November 2013.[29][30][31][32]
In 2013, the airline lowered prices and entered into fare war with low-cost carriers IndiGo and SpiceJet due to fall in passenger demand.[33][34][35][36] In February 2013, the airline's market value dropped by ₹484 crore (US$72 million) owing to falling share prices.[37][38] Jet Airways made profits in the third quarter of the financial year 2013-14, after posting losses over the previous year.[39][40]Jet Airways announced on 11 August 2014 that it would phase out Jet Konnect by the end of the year as part of plans to re-position itself as a uniform full-service operator.[41] On 1 December 2014, Jet Konnect was fully merged with Jet Airways, making it the third full service airline in India besides Air India and Vistara.[42][43] In December 2015, Jet Airways announced the closure of its European scissors at Brussels Airport by March 2016 and opening of new hub at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport effective 27 March 2016.[44][45] As of February 2016, it is the second largest airline in India after IndiGo with a 21.2% passenger market share.
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