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Jet awaits nod for China-U.S. flights

Beijing: China and the United States will be connected by an Indian carrier for the first time, if the Jet Airways’ proposal to fly on the Mumbai-Shanghai-San Francisco route is cleared by Chinese authorities.

This would also be the first direct flight link between the commercial capitals of India and China, two of the world’s fastest growing economies.

Air India now operates flights on the Mumbai-Delhi-Bangkok-Shanghai route.

Naresh Goyal, Chairman of Jet Airways, says the airline is ready to start operating the flights on a daily basis as early as next month.

The reason for foot-dragging on the Chinese side is that New Delhi is blocking the entry of Chinese cargo carrier Great Wall Airlines to Mumbai and Chennai, reportedly due to the fact that key nuclear facilities are located near these two airports.

The Indian government’s move arises from the fact that one of the former owners of the airline in question — China Great Wall Industry Corporation — was blacklisted by the U.S. for alleged transfer of missile technology to Iran.

Beijing’s obstruction of Jet Airways’ plans is thus a retaliatory measure. Under a bilateral agreement signed in April 2005, during Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s visit to India, the airlines of both countries are allowed to operate up to 42 weekly flights between the two nations. However, while Chinese carriers already boast a combined 18 weekly flights, Air India (now the only Indian airline that flies to China) operates just four flights a week.

During a meeting with his Chinese counterpart in Beijing on Saturday, Commerce Minister Kamal Nath brought up Jet’s case as a concern, arguing that Beijing should de-link it from the Great Wall Airline issue.

Mr. Goyal says he is hopeful that the matter will be resolved soon, perhaps even while the Indian Prime Minister is in Beijing. “After all, the [Indian] PM has said he wants to transform Mumbai into Shanghai. If that is so, isn’t it first necessary to have a direct flight between the two cities?”

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Jet awaits nod for China-U.S. flights

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