WOOING INVESTMENT: Jean Luc Dehaene, Minister of State and former Prime Minister of Belgium (center), and John Verzeele, director of business development, Flanders Investment and Trade (right), with Sanjay Jayavarthanavelu of the Confederation of In dian Industry at a meeting in Chennai on Wednesday. — Photo: K. Pichumani

CHENNAI: Jet Airways will start its long-planned flights to New York this summer, via Brussels.

"It's likely to come by the end of July, early August," according to Nandini Verma, vice-president of public relations at Jet.

The daily flights will initially be from Mumbai, and later from New Delhi too, she said.

Jet Airways will be the first Indian private carrier to fly to the U.S. This will also provide a direct air link between India and Belgium. Now travellers from India to Belgium have to take connecting flights from cities such as Paris, Frankfurt or Amsterdam. Jet had planned this route over two years ago, but the move was stalled owing to legal problems in the U.S.

The Brussels Airport is also in talks with Jet and other Indian carriers to begin cargo operations between India and Belgium. A trade and investment delegation from Flanders, the Dutch-speaking northern region of Belgium, met with air cargo operators in Chennai on Wednesday to discuss possibilities of collaboration.

Logistics hub

Cargo operations are part of Belgium's promotion of itself as a logistics hub for Europe. "Belgium ranks first in the world as a distribution and logistics hub... our location makes us an ideal gateway to Europe and its population of 450 million consumers," said the delegation's leader, Minister of State and former Prime Minister of Belgium, Jean Luc Dehaene, at a meeting organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry.

"Flanders is at the very heart of Europe. Within 24 hours it is possible to reach all the main markets on the continent [from there]," said John Verzeele, director of business development at Flanders Investment and Trade.

Excellent infrastructure, road, rail, sea and air networks and cost-effective warehousing and logistics solutions ensure that Belgium is Europe's No. 1 location for distribution, according to Cushman and Wakefield.

Mr. Verzeele said the petrochemical, pharmaceutical, automobile and information technology sectors would benefit from choosing Brussels as their sales and distribution centre in Europe.

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