Jet Airways is going through a rough patch. They are trying to steer the ship aircraft in the right direction and are shuffling around their route network a lot, including to the Middle East. Currently, Jet Airways flies to Dammam, Jeddah and Riyadh from New Delhi and Mumbai. The Thiruvananthapuram to Dammam route is no longer bookable for flights from February 9, 2019.
Jet Airways just yesterday, announced a codeshare agreement with FlyNas. FlyNas is a Saudi LCC carrier. FlyNas already has a codeshare agreement with Etihad Airways, so it may be the reason why Jet Airways chose FlyNas over SkyTeam member Saudia Airlines. The codeshare is in effect from today, December 11, 2018.
Under this new partnership, Jet Airways will put its code 9W on flights from Dammam, Jeddah and Riyadh to Abha, Al-Qassim, Jizan, Medina and Taif. Apart from these, Jet Airways will also put its code on flights between Dammam, Jeddah and Riyadh also.
FlyNas will put its XY code on Jet Airways flights from Dammam, Riyadh and Jeddah to New Delhi and Mumbai. In addition, FlyNas will also place its XY code on Jet Airways domestic flights from New Delhi and Mumbai to Bengaluru, Lucknow, Kochi, Hyderabad and Chennai.
As a part of the codeshare agreement, Jet Privilege members will earn bonus miles on qualifying flights.
The benefits are limited to bonus miles only. The reason being FlyNas is an LCC after all.
Bottomline
FlyNas is Jet Airways 25th codeshare partner. For many of us, including me, the extensive list of codeshare partners and destinations is what sets Jet Airways apart. Jet Airways has always tried to improve connectivity from every international destination they serve, unlike some other airlines which are just doing point to point services to and from India.
And this strategy seems to be paying off. Saudia Airlines will still remain the dominant carrier due to huge connectivity between India and Saudi Arabia and within Saudi Arabia. And the fact that Saudia Airline provides one-hop flights from many Indian cities to corresponding Saudi Arabian cities as opposed to Jet Airways two stop flights (apart from Mumbai and New Delhi).
What do you think about the new tie-up between Jet Airways and FlyNas?
Bheek maange ki aukaad aa gayi hai aur inko codeshare ki padi hai
In fact SV also codeshares with EY. This was much more recent and comes on top of XY’s codeshare with EY.