Singapore Airlines is making further adjustments to its route network, primarily cutting back flights to various destinations in India, Thailand, Europe, and USA, while increasing capacities to the middle east.

The changes, will take place progressively from now and will apply for the rest of the Northern Winter schedule (i.e. till end-March 2009), and will most likely continue in to the Summer schedule.

India
Hyderabad-Singapore services SQ439 and SQ438 will be reduced from four to three times weekly, with the suspension of the Saturday service from 21 February. Service will operate on Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays.

New Delhi-Singapore services SQ405 and SQ406 will be reduced from a six times weekly service, to five times weekly service, from 10 March to 24 March 2009, as flights on Tuesdays during this period will be suspended.

Mumbai-Singapore services SQ421 and SQ422 will be progressively reduced from five to four times weekly services, starting 27 February 2009. Flights on Fridays will be suspended.

Thailand
Bangkok-Singapore services SQ972 and SQ975 will be suspended from 2 February until the end of the Northern Winter Schedule bringing Singapore Airlines capacity to 25 flights weekly.

USA
Newark-Singapore and Los Angeles-Singapore non-stop services performed by the Airbus A340-500; frequency will reduce by two flights to five weekly flights on each route. The Tuesday and Wednesday services, will be suspended.

Ironically, Thai Airways, who has been unable to find a buyer for its suspended A340-500 aircraft, is resuming Bangkok-USA non-stop services.

Europe
United Kingdom
London Heathrow-Singapore services SQ308 and SQ319 will be suspended on Mondays and Thursdays between 9 and 23 March 2009. Total frequency on the Singapore-London route will reduce from 21 to 19 flights per week.

Switzerland
Zurich-Singapore services SQ342 and SQ341 will be reduced from daily to five times weekly, from 9 March 2009. Total frequency on the Singapore-Zurich route will reduce from 14 to 12 flights per week.

Middle East
Kuwait and Abu Dhabi
Singapore Airlines will commence four times weekly services to Kuwait, via Abu Dhabi, from 15 March 2009, with the introduction of SQ458 and SQ457 on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays. Singapore Airlines will continue its existing three times weekly service to Abu Dhabi. With the addition of the Kuwait service, Abu Dhabi will become a daily service.

Egypt
Cairo-Singapore services SQ492 and SQ493 will increase from thrice weekly to four times a week from 12 March. The Cairo flights will operate via Dubai, thus increasing frequency between Singapore and Dubai to 16 per week.

Jet Airways has announced a basket of special deals on its international flights. Remember all fares mentioned herein are exclusive of surcharge and taxes.

Mumbai/Delhi/Chennai/Kolkata – Singapore/Hong Kong/Bangkok

Companion Free Offer on Premiére (business class)
Jet Airways’ international Premiére customers travelling to Singapore and Hong Kong can now avail of exciting Companion Free travel offers.

A Mumbai – Singapore Premiére return fare is available for two persons travelling together for a sum of INR 1,01,250. Hong Kong is INR 94,500, Bangkok is INR 57,065.

Jet also has Delhi – Bangkok, Delhi - Singapore, Chennai - Singapore, Chennai – Kuala Lumpur, and Kolkata – Bangkok sectors.

Special offers for individual travel
Premiére class return fare of INR 54,000 for Mumbai - Hong Kong.

Economy class return fare of INR 7,480 for travel between Mumbai – Singapore, INR 12,635 for Mumbai – Singapore, INR 9,750 Mumbai - Bangkok.

Mumbai/Delhi – London Heathrow

Special offers for individual travel
India and London Heathrow, a special return Premiére fare of INR 85,000 for a 14 day Advance Purchase or APEX. Economy class fares start at INR 15,990.

Double JPMiles
Jet Airways JetPrivilege members travelling on Mumbai/Delhi - London return sectors can earn Double JPMiles until January 15, 2009. This is applicable on First Class, Premiére and Economy class travel.

Mumbai – New York (Newark / JFK)

Special offer for individual travel
Mumbai - New York (Newark / JFK) Economy class return fare of INR 32,600.

For further information and sales and travel validity, customers may visit www.jetairways.com, or contact their nearest travel agent, or call the reservations number (city code) 3989-3333, or call Toll free on 1800-22-55-22.

Next Generation Ground Based Augmentation System (GBAS) to use global positioning data to pinpoint aircraft positions, rather than Old Generation radar

Newark Liberty International Airport will become the nation’s first major hub to test a new satellite navigation technology to help reduce flight delays, under an agreement approved today by the Port Authority’s board of commissioners.

The technology, called Ground Based Augmentation System (GBAS), will help reduce air-traffic control congestion at Newark Liberty by increasing navigational precision compared with traditional radar-based systems; i.e. planes using GBAS will be able to fly closer together and land more efficiently, without reducing safety.

Such a program will benefit Newark Liberty, which has been plagued for years by congestion and has consistently ranked near the bottom of the nation’s busiest airports in terms of on-time arrivals.

The Port Authority has authorized an estimated $2.5 million to cover the costs and oversee a contract with Honeywell to buy, install and maintain the GBAS system. Honeywell is the only FAA-certified provider of the system.

Continental will invest approximately $1.1 million to outfit 15 planes with GBAS equipment and train pilots to use the system. The FAA has committed as much as $2.5 million to assess the technology and expand its use.

Port Authority Aviation Director William DeCota said

"Satellite navigation has tremendous accuracy and integrity for civil navigation, creating far more efficiency than radar in processing planes and they do not have the obstruction issues that radio waves [used by radar] have,"

"Right now full implementation of satellite navigation in the U.S. and elsewhere to meet future demands and avoid gridlock in the sky is a number of years away and dependent on the expenditure of billions of dollars by the FAA for technologies that will serve as its backbone,"

GBAS, however, is ready to be tested now. The system utilizes a series of antennas and receivers set around the airport’s grounds and a VHF “datalink” to navigational satellites, which communicate together on aircraft position. Sensors are used to bolster the accuracy, availability and reliability of the satellite signals. The technology is particularly beneficial in low visibility landing conditions.

India is already underway, implementing a similar, but Satellite based, system called GAGAN (GPS Aided Geo Augmented Navigation), which is due for completion in May 2011.

Jet Airways, today connected Bengaluru with New York (Newark and JFK) and Toronto, via its European hub in Brussels with four weekly flights - on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays respectively, till December 14, 2008.

In keeping with the higher holiday season passenger traffic, Jet Airways will increase its frequency on the sector, operating daily flights between Bengaluru and Brussels effective December 15, 2008 to January 15, 2009; and will revert to flying four times a week on the same sector, effective January 16, 2009 onwards.

The launch of Jet Airways’ inaugural service on the Bengaluru-Brussels sector was marked by a multi-faith prayer session at the new Bengaluru International Airport, followed by the ceremonial lighting of the inaugural lamp by Mr. Albert Brunner, CEO, BIAL and Mr. Sudheer Raghavan, Chief Commercial Officer, Jet Airways.

Flight 9W 132 departed the new Bengaluru International Airport at 0135 hrs, arriving at Brussels International Airport at 0755 hrs. On the return leg, Jet Airways flight 9W 131 will depart Brussels at 1010 hrs and arrive at Bengaluru at 0005 hrs the following morning.

With the launch of these services, arriving passengers from Bengaluru can now conveniently connect to Jet Airways’ transatlantic services to North America and Europe in a seamless manner, on board its state-of-the-art Airbus 330-200 aircraft offering an unmatched international Premiere and Economy Class experience.

Jet Airways’ passengers can currently connect to six additional destinations in the United States and seven destinations across Europe through its code share partnerships with American Airlines and Brussels Airlines respectively.

This enhanced connectivity on Jet Airways includes Washington Reagan, Dallas, Boston, Cleveland, Baltimore and Raleigh-Durham in the United States, via New York (JFK) and to Birmingham, Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin Tegel, Manchester, Paris De Gaulle and Lyon in Europe, via Brussels.

Commenting on this new route development, Mr. Sudheer Raghavan said, “Jet Airways is proud to commence its signature wide body operations from Bengaluru to North America and Europe via its Brussels hub. Bengaluru will now be the fourth major Indian gateway for Jet Airways’ services to North America via Brussels, in addition to Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai”.

Bengaluru is also the ninth Indian city to be connected to Jet Airways’ international network.

The Brussels hub operation is ideally suited to offer Jet Airways’ customers flexibility with flight timings, to connect India with North America and Europe.

Passengers from Bengaluru will experience Jet Airways’ dual-class, state-of-the-art Airbus 330-200 aircraft featuring its acclaimed herringbone-configured Première, which makes every seat an aisle seat .Besides converting to 180 degree flat beds with lumbar support and massage systems, Première seats also offer the busy business traveller oversized tables, laptop power, telephony, SMS, Email and live text news.

The spacious new Economy class, passengers will enjoy seats more spacious than the norm and ergonomically designed to reduce stress and strain for perhaps the most comfortable ride in its class.