Jet Airways’ first direct daily service between Bengaluru and Amsterdam has commenced operations, India’s premier, full-service international airline said today.

The flight to Amsterdam, 9W 236 departed from Bengaluru at 0230 hours IST with a full complement of Premiere and Economy guests on board the modern Airbus A330 aircraft, that offers a spacious cabin, greater leg-room, as well as lie-flat beds for Premiere travellers.

Prior to the flight’s departure, Chief Guest, Mr. Ananth Kumar, Hon’ble Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers & Parliamentary Affairs, along with Mr. Priyank Kharge, Hon’ble Minister IT, BT, and Tourism and Mr. R V Deshpande, Hon’ble Minister for Medium and Large Industries; Government of Karnataka, Mr. Rajiv Bhushan Tiwari, IRS, Commissioner - Customs, Central Excise & Service Tax, and Mr. Praveen Iyer, VP Commercial – India Sales, Jet Airways with other dignitaries, performed the traditional lamp-lighting ceremony. This was followed by a multi-faith prayer marking the inauguration of the new service, following which the airline issued boarding passes to the first guests who checked in for the flight.

The new service, part of Jet Airways’ winter schedule, departed Bengaluru as per schedule at 0230 hours (Local Time) and will arrive at Amsterdam at 0845 hrs (LT). The return service, 9W 235, will depart Amsterdam at 1050 hrs (LT) to land in Bengaluru at 0045 hrs (LT).

On board, guests will be able to choose from amongst a carefully-curated international cuisine, immerse themselves in cutting-edge entertainment, and experience the best of long-haul travel with 180° lie-flat beds in Premiere together with ergonomically-designed seating in Economy - an experience only accentuated by the airline’s hallmark spirit of Indian hospitality.

Jayaraj Shanmugam, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet Airways, said, "Jet Airways is delighted to commence its new daily, non-stop service from Bengaluru to Amsterdam. The launch of the flight comes at an opportune time as Bengaluru is witnessing rapid growth in business, commerce and tourism, accelerating the demand for quality services to and from key destinations across the world. Our well-differentiated product and service experience together with a growing number of destinations and connectivity choices for guests sets us apart from the competition. We are sure our guests will welcome the introduction of the flight and travel with us to experience the best in-flight hospitality on offer by India’s premier international airline.”

Non-stop connectivity to Amsterdam illustrates its importance as a significant European and North American gateway for both passenger and cargo traffic. Guests travelling via Amsterdam on connecting flights between Jet Airways and codeshare partners KLM and Delta, will enjoy enhanced connectivity via codeshare services between Bengaluru and as many as 43 European destinations such as London, Paris, Barcelona, Berlin, Birmingham, Bristol, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, Geneva, Rome and other key cities, as well as to 21 leading cities across North America such as, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Miami, New York, Newark, Seattle among several others.

Additionally, guests of Jet Airways can take advantage of its unique and unmatched advantage that allows them to travel through one gateway and return via another, on a single itinerary from its three European gateways, viz. Paris, London and Amsterdam. At the same time, guests who are members of Frequent Flyer programmes of the codeshare partners - JetPrivilege (JP), Flying Blue and SkyMiles – can easily accrue and redeem points on each other.

The new service will also enhance Jet Airways' cumulative daily cargo capacity to Europe by as much as 15 tons facilitating increase in trade of various commodities such as flowers, perishables, pharmaceuticals, heavy machinery, garments, electrical and medical equipment, auto parts as well as exotic food items.

Noted Corporate and industry luminaries including Mr. T V Mohandas Pai, Chairman - Manipal Global Education; Mr. Raj Andrade, VP Business Development, Marketing & Strategy - BIAL; Dr. Ajai Kumar, Founder, Chairman & CEO – Healthcare Global Enterprises Ltd; Mr. Kamal Bali, Chairman & MD – Volvo India Pvt Ltd; Mr. Rakesh Bamzai, MD & CEO (India and Emerging Markets) – Mylan Laboratories Limited; Mr. Mohammed Aseem Ali Gangoli, Director Industry Relations Asia-Travix; Mr. Rajdev Bhattacharya, GM Travel, Wipro; Mr. Rene Beerepoot, Consulate General (Designate) and Mr. Michiel Bierkens, Counsellor, Head of Economic Section from the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, also graced the flag-off ceremony of the inaugural flight.