With Sri Lanka’s economy picking up significantly post-war, Jet Airways is actively looking at expanding operations and increasing the number of frequencies to Colombo,
says K. P. Sinha, Vice President of India’s premier International Airline."Sri Lanka is a unique and unmatched destination, and for Jet Airways sky is the limit in such a country where the key focus is now on fast-tracking economic development", he said.
"As a safe destination, tourists no longer need to fear visiting this resplendent island, which is on a productive path of economic prosperity", he noted.
Sinha was speaking to a group of Sri Lankan journalists who were special invitees at a reception hosted at the luxury Essex Farms Hotel complex in New Delhi to celebrate the launch of daily direct Jet Airways flight from Colombo to New Delhi and Mumbai with effect from November 5.
He said that for nearly three decades, Sri Lanka had to give top priority to defending the nation from ruthless terror attacks rather than concentrating on development, but with the restoration of peace under the leadership of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, the country can now move vibrantly towards economic progress.
"If there is peace in a country prosperity follows", the veteran aviation industry top executive underscored. "There is no stopping a nation which is safe and peaceful".
"I envisage enormous development in Sri Lanka over the next five years", he noted. "We want to make Sri Lanka the leader within the SAARC countries in our indefatigable efforts to contribute meaningfully towards developing the aviation industry".
When there is terror and violence in a country, the first to take a crippling blow are the aviation/hospitality segments because planes will stop coming as visitors pull out in fear, he pointed out.
Perhaps, war and violence cannot stop a steel plant from operating, but it can stop aircraft from flying in. That’s the worst that can happen to a country where there is no peace and order, Sinha continued.
With a fleet of 91 aircraft, including 12 Airbuses, Jet Airways flies to 23 international destinations and 43 destinations within India. The airline has one of the youngest aircraft fleets in the world.
"We are also looking at developing a mutually rewarding partnership with Sri Lanka for a win-win situation as the number of travelers is growing significantly", he said.
He said that with the ‘visa on arrival’ facility, more and more Indians now opt to visit Sri Lanka. Their friendly neighbor is fast becoming their preferred choice. It was SriLankan Airlines which pioneered this move.
"Sri Lanka as a tourist destination certainly has more to offer to the discerning traveler than Bangkok and Singapore, which now tops the list in terms of choice for Indian travelers", Sinha explained. "This will change easily and we already see it happening".
He said that Sri Lanka should focus not only on developing outbound tourism but also more importantly on inbound tourism, which largely benefits a wide spectrum within the hospitality industry from hotels down to the tour guide or taxi driver.
"This would give a turbo boost to the industry as a whole".
He said that Jet Airways has spoken to the Sri Lanka Tourist Board to organize a visit by a group of Indian travel agents to Colombo. This will enable them to tour the country, visit sites of interest and experience first-hand the prevailing situation.
"We also look at Sri Lanka as a transit point where we can carry traffic globally", said A. K. Sivanandan, the airline’s Vice President (PR). "We believe in doing what’s mutually beneficial to both countries".
Sinha said that Jet Airways is the only foreign airline which operates the maximum number of flights to Sri Lanka at present.
"We operate daily flights from Colombo to New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai".
Asked by The Island whether the airline is also contemplating flights to Pakistan, he replied, "We hope to fly there but we need to wait until the situation improves and normalcy is restored".
Established in 1993 by its founder Chairman Naresh Goyal, Jet Airways is described as "one of the fastest growing airlines in the world".
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