JetLite Eyes S-E Asia

JetLite eyes S-E Asia, plans fleet expansion
New Delhi: In a bid to scale up operations of its value carrier JetLite, Jet Airways plans to expand the airline's fleet size with an eye on international destinations in Middle East and South East Asia.“We plan to add at least five leased aircraft to our fleet in 2008. Some of the leased planes would also replace some existing ageing aircraft in the JetLite fleet “ JetLite chief executive Garry Kingshott told ET.This comes at a time when the airline is still struggling to get the full 24-aircraft Air Sahara fleet, it bought out in April this year, back on the sky. Currently, 14 aircraft are air-worthy, while the rest are sidelined on technical grounds.One leased Boeing 737 aircraft is likely to join the fleet by October this year. Once JetLite is able to increase its fleet size, it would look at flying to more destinations in South East Asia, including Bangkok, Kaula Lumpur, Dhaka, and Hanoi. In its previous avatar as Air Sahara, the airline flew to several international destinations including Singapore, Colombo, Kathmandu, and Malle.