Jet Airways & Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation Launch 'Golden Jet Escapes'.

Online, September 2, 2009 (Newswire.com) - Two of India's premium luxury travel brands, The Golden Chariot South India's first luxury train by Karnataka state tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC) and Jet Airways, India's premiere international airline have joined hands to offer unique holiday packages that combine luxury with convenience. 'The Golden Jet Escapes' offers a flight to Bangalore and onward journeys on Karnataka's famed Golden Chariot Train, was launched in Bangalore today by Minister for Tourism and Infrastructure Development, Sri G Janardhana Reddy amidst an audience of media and tour operators.

Sri. Siraj Sheikh, Chairman, KSTDC, Sri. K Jothiramalingam, IAS, Principal Secretary Tourism, Mr. Sudheer Raghavan, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet Airways, Sri. K Vishwanatha Reddy, IAS, Director - Karnataka Tourism, Sri. Vinay Luthra, IFS, MD-KSTDC, Sri. ND Tiwari, MD JLR and Mr. Girish Nair, Area General Manager, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh were among the senior officials from both sides present during the launch.

These new holiday packages will target both international and domestic travelers from metro destinations such as New Delhi, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Chennai, Goa and Kochi in India, while on the international front, the offer is valid from New York, New Jersey, Toronto, London and Brussels.

Specially packaged fares have been provided by both the Golden Chariot and Jet Airways to offer a seamless travel experience that combines the air travel from a gateway city with the Golden Chariot experience that will showcase Southern India's historic regions and sights such as Kabini, Mysore, Sharavanabelagola, Belur, Halebid , Hampi, Badami Caves, Pattadakai and Goa.
The holiday packages have been especially created around the concept of time travel. Starting with 21st century Bangalore, travelers will be taken back in time to the 6th century Badami Caves, each destination offering chapter in history of this region.

The Golden Jet Escape packages will be available on Jet Airways and The Golden Chariot websites. Bookings can be made on the websites www.glodenjetescapes.com and www.jetairways.com from Monday, July 27th, 2009. These packages can also be availed through GSA's of the Golden Chariot and travel agents.

Jet Airways with its extensive network in India and in key gateway cities in the US, UK and Europe will also market this to new target audiences encouraging them to experience and relive the rich cultural diversity of Karnataka's heritage. This offer that is available for both Premiere and Economy class on Jet Airways.

Tourism Minister Sri. G. Janardhana Reddy, said, "The Government is interested in coming up with more such initiatives where marketing is jointly done with leading private sector players. Especially when the partners are popular and accepted it augurs well for the destination. With this initiative, Karnataka has spread its marketing initiatives firmly on the international and national markets."

According to Mr. Sudheer Raghavan, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet Airways, "Jet Airways has always sought to promote tourism both internationally, as well as within India, by leveraging its unmatched pan-India and growing international network. We are delighted to partner with KSTDC to launch the 'Golden Jet Escapes' initiative, as part of our ongoing efforts to boost domestic travel and tourism. We are confident that the compelling value proposition on offer will spur more travelers to visit Karnataka this year."

On this occasion, Sutradhar, The Golden Chariot's on board magazine was launched by Sri. Siraj Sheikh, Chairman, KSTDC. Speaking on the occasion he said that Karnataka is a land full of exciting stories and they can be seen and heard at every turn, in every destination. "Sutradhar, will narrate the stories of this land in an exciting manner that will be presented by the Sutradhar of 'The Golden Chariot'. This will be yet another piece of showcase literature for travelers to Karnataka to read."

Jet Airways
Jet Airways currently operates a fleet of 83 aircraft, which includes 10 Boeing 777-300 ER aircraft, 12 Airbus A330-200 aircraft, 47 next generation Boeing 737-700/800/900 aircraft and 14 modern ATR 72-500 turboprop aircraft. With an average fleet age of 4.57 years, the airline has one of the youngest aircraft fleet in the world.

Flights to 64 destinations span the length and breadth of India and beyond, including New York (both JFK and Newark), Toronto, Brussels, London (Heathrow), Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, Colombo, Bangkok, Kathmandu, Dhaka, Kuwait, Bahrain, Muscat, Doha, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Jeddah.

Jet Airways and its no-frills Economy Class service Jet Airways Konnect together operate over 365 flights daily.

About Jet Airways Konnect
Jet Airways Konnect is Jet Airways' no-frills Economy Class service on key domestic routes, designed to meet the needs of the low fare segment.

Jet Airways Konnect links five major metros- Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru and Kolkata - with several destinations across India.

Jet Airways Konnect service is available from Mumbai to Bhopal/ Udaipur/ Ahmedabad/ Bhavnagar/ Jodhpur/ Chennai/ Kochi/ Vadodara and Jaipur, Delhi to Chennai/ Bengaluru/ Amritsar and Vadodara, Chennai to Madurai/ Kochi/ Coimbatore/ Hyderabad/ Thiruvananthapuram and Bengaluru. The service also links Bengaluru to Mumbai / Mangalore/ Pune/ Hyderabad/ Thiruvananthapuram and Kolkata and Kolkata to Jorhat/ Agartala/ Guwahati.

Besides these sectors, Jet Airways Konnect also connects Hyderabad to Goa / Ahemdabad / Indore / Bhopal and Raipur.

Jet Airways Konnect currently operates over 130 flights daily

About JetLite:
JetLite is a wholly owned subsidiary of Jet Airways India Ltd. and was acquired by Jet Airways in April 2007. Positioned as an all-economy airline, JetLite promises to offer value for money fares. JetLite currently operates a fleet of 23 aircraft, which includes 16 Boeing 737 series and 7 Canadian Regional Jets 200 Series. The airline flies to 28 domestic destinations and 2 international destinations (Kathmandu and Colombo), currently operating 115 flights a day, on average.
Jet Airways, with the acquisition of JetLite, and along with its Economy Class Jet Airways Konnect service, today has a combined fleet strength of 109 aircraft and operates over 449 flights daily.