Jet Airways sees further drop in passengers in 2010

HYDERABAD: Stating that fall in yield is a worrying factor, Jet Airways Chief Commercial Officer Sudheer Raghavan today said the financial year 2010 could see a further drop in air travellers .

"Yields have fallen to floor by 20-25 per cent. It's not only in India but a global scenario. Yield is a big problem. In the financial year 2010 the numbers (passenger capacity) will be worse compared to the previous year," he said.

Raghavan was speaking to reporters after announcing the launch of an international service to Dubai from Hyderabad, beginning August 16th.

Responding to a query, he said there was decline in business class and first class travellers as they were now preferring economy class and low-cost carriers.

"The occupancy at Jet Airways is currently 69 per cent but at the current yields it won't be viable until it reaches 90 per cent," he said.

However, despite these problems, Jet Airways achieved 18 per cent growth in June and 21 per cent in July and became the biggest carrier in India with 26.3 percent share in the market, he said.

Raghavan said it plans to increase departures of its all-economy service Jet Airways Konnect and the service could account for 65 per cent of the airline's total departures.