Jet Airways

Jet Airways of India has decided upon making MXP-Milan, Italy its second international long haul scissors hub similar to the one it currently operates at BRU-Brussels. 9W wants to use MXP's business potential on strong O&D routes to USA as AZ has suspended a majority of its MXP-USA routes due to shifting its hub back to FCO-Rome. 9W says that from 2009, it will fly via MXP to North America and is looking at nonstop flights to YVR and LAX from MXP. All MXP flights though are to originate from HYD/BLR/CCU & AMD.

In other 9W news, the airline is expected to announce shortly new nonstop flights between Delhi and Hong Kong which are scheduled to start within a month's time. This new flight will be flown daily nonstop using an A 332. The tentative flight timings are as follows:

9W 044 Dep DEL 0930 Arr HKG 1730
9W 043 Dep HKG 1330 Arr DEL 1645

*Basically the incoming plane from BOM will be used for HKG-DEL.

Analysis:

This is an interesting strategic move undertaken by 9W by wanting to make MXP a scissors hub for its expansion to USA. Obviously, the Italian Govt and MXP Airport Officials must have played a key role by offering all sorts of incentives for 9W to undertake such an investment after witnessing the de-hubbing of Alitalia at MXP. Northern Italy, is the business, financial and commercial core of Italy and MXP is the gateway airport into this region thus having huge amounts of high yielding J class traffic. 9W definitely seems to have realized this and AZ pulling out also helped sway this decision of theirs in favor of it.

However, what 9W should not do is to fly from AMD via MXP to USA because for AMD, flights need to be routed via BRU as the state of Gujarat, India is the world's 3rd largest diamond production, manufacturing area with heaps loads of business bound for Belgium year round. There is hardly any traffic from AMD bound for Italy!

Also via MXP, 9W should first target cities not flown nonstop to USA by the American carriers and AZ alike which have good amount of O&D demand. This should be done as it would provide 9W with a monopoly stranglehold which in turn would allow it to dictate prices especially in the high yielding J class cabin. Routings that come to mind are MXP-IAD daily A 332, MXP-IAH and MXP-ORD.