Jet Airways, India's premier international airline is proud to announce that beginning Nov 5, 2018, it will launch its first non-stop service between Mumbai and Manchester, thus further strengthening its connect to the United Kingdom (UK). This new service is the first nonstop service connecting India, via its economic capital with Manchester, the 3^rd largest city in the UK. Jet Airways will deploy its wide body A330-200 with 254 seating for the service, which will operate for four days every week including Monday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.

Manchester will become the 21^st international addition to the Jet Airways network and with the introduction of this new flight - the carrier’s 5th non-stop service to/from the UK, Jet Airways will also become the largest carrier between Mumbai and the UK.

The launch of this new service will provide seamless connectivity to several domestic destinations to and from India which include Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Bhuj, Bhopal, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Coimbatore, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Indore, Aurangabad, Jaipur, Chennai, Nagpur, Rajkot, Raipur, Udaipur, via the airline's HUB, Mumbai.

Similarly, quick connections to beyond points on Jet Airways' international network such as Bangkok, Colombo, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dhaka and Kathmandu, will now be available.

The new service will complement the carrier's existing thrice daily, non-stop services between Mumbai – London Heathrow, and a daily service between Delhi – London Heathrow. The launch of the new service comes one year after the airline launched 3 new international services last year on Oct 29 to Amsterdam, Paris and London from Bengaluru, Chennai and Mumbai respectively.

Vinay Dube, Chief Executive Officer, Jet Airways said "We are extremely pleased to begin a new chapter in our decade-long relationship with the United Kingdom. The new service will bring Manchester into our global network, reinforcing our footprint as well as expanding the choice of connectivity to / from the United Kingdom for our guests with the 4 days / week, non-stop service. With the new flight, Jet Airways will have over 8,000 seats on offer every week, making it increasingly convenient for both business as well as leisure travelers, travelling between India and the UK, deepening commerce as well as tourism ties between the two countries".

Manchester – the fastest growing UK city outside of London is also Europe's second largest digital hub. The city lies at the heart of the UK's North and the area is home to leading companies from a range of industries including Aerospace, Automotive, Chemical, Financial, IT, Media, Pharmaceutical and Retail. Consequently, the new service between Mumbai and Manchester is expected to be of special significance to business travelers, as also for a significant diaspora of people, including a growing Indian community residing in and around Manchester. The fast-expanding business and industrial hub also has one of the largest student communities in Europe, besides being extremely well connected to other major cities such as Liverpool, Leeds and Sheffield, all within close proximity to Manchester.

Manchester Airport CEO Andrew Cowan, who said: "Securing a direct service to one of India's major cities is the product of a lot of hard work over a long period of time to forge closer ties between Manchester and this globally significant economy. We have worked, along with a range of partners, to create a compelling case for why our city – and the wider North – is a great place to visit, invest in and do business with. I am delighted Jet Airways have recognised this by launching what I’m sure will be a hugely popular service, not least for the 500,000 people of Indian origin living across the North. Direct connectivity to the world’s most important markets is key to creating a prosperous and internationally competitive Northern economy, and a balanced and outward facing UK. This route will deliver a major boost to businesses looking to export to the world's fastest-growing economy, as well as helping to attract Indian visitors and investors to the North. We look forward to working with Jet Airways on launching the Mumbai service in the months ahead."

Jet Airways' flight 9W 130 will depart from Mumbai at 0230 hrs (Local time) and will arrive in Manchester's Terminal 2 at 0755 hrs (Local time). The return flight, 9W 129 will depart from Manchester at 0935 hrs (Local time) and arrive in Mumbai's Terminal 2 at 0040 hrs (Local time).

The new flight assumes even greater importance with the 'The Manchester-India Partnership' championed by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Sh. Narendra Modi, to help strengthen cultural and business ties between the two economies. The launch of the new service will also support with the recommendations of the UK Government, which has been promoting connectivity to other key cities in the UK, besides London Heathrow.

Jet Airways' A330-200 aircraft with 254 seats including 18 in Première will operate on the new sector. The A330 is a world-class product providing the luxury of spacious seating in quiet cabins, where guests can experience Jet Airways' highly acclaimed in-flight service characterised by fine dining, together with a choice of their preferred meal as part of the 'Dine Anytime' concept. Guests can also enjoy endless hours of the airline’s carefully curated audio-video programming comprising favourite Hollywood and Bollywood blockbusters, popular TV shows and TV Shorts, business news and audio compilations with the airline’s award-winning Inflight Entertainment system – JetScreen.

Growth in Cargo

The new flight will enhance Jet Airways' cargo capacity by 15 tons from India to UK and most importantly, open a 2nd important destination in the UK to shippers and exporters and manufacturers from India. With this, Jet Airways’ daily cargo capacity between Mumbai and Delhi to the UK will be 115 tons in each direction.

The opening up of Manchester route will enable the airline to offer the much needed daily direct capacity from Mumbai and other stations in India for carriage of commodities such as perishables, pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, garments & fabrics, foodstuffs, as well as specialized medical equipment, among others. The non-stop service will fuel trade and further develop business, from India to Manchester and greater area and vice versa.