Who Will Be India's JetBlue?

JetBlue was a dark horse when it began operations in the USA but rapidly moved up the ladder from being a low-cost carrier to a value carrier. Ameya Joshi lists out the similarities and dissimilarities between the US carrier and Indian LCCs, IndiGo and SpiceJet, that have been travelling on the path to becoming the JetBlue of the Indian skies.

- Ameya Joshi

Call it sudden or unexpected, the fall of Jet Airways has caused problems to travellers far and wide. While the initial focus was on the stations which Jet Airways terminated and the flights which it reduced, the last days of the airline saw a complete pullout from the international side as well. As passengers move on, there is another factor which got overlooked initially, the umpteen code-shares which Jet Airways had with foreign airlines. With the first mover advantage in Indian skies, Jet Airways had been a preferred codeshare or interline partner with most of the international airlines flying to India. This included airlines across alliances and regions and it helped them reach the corners of the country via Mumbai and Delhi which were strong Jet Airways’ hubs.

This has led to airlines like Lufthansa, Swiss, Austrian, United and many more looking out for partners. While Vistara is an obvious choice, the airline lacks the kind of network and reach which Jet Airways had. Air India – a Star Alliance member – has not been very active with code-shares and interlines and also has its flight schedule developed around its own international bank, which leads to longer periods for connections. That leaves the airlines with two options – IndiGo or SpiceJet that have a considerable presence at Mumbai and Delhi and a network which is wider and denser than what Jet Airways had.

The best parallels can be drawn with Jet- Blue, the American airline, which started as a low-cost carrier (LCC) and today has partnerships with 21 airlines across the world. The airline has slowly climbed the value chain to introduce a business class and start a loyalty programme – something that LCCs abhor. As SpiceJet launches its business class product and IndiGo has gone live with its codeshare, it will be interesting to see who becomes the JetBlue of India?

JetBlue