Jet Airways gets govt nod for Gulf routes

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Jet Airways Ltd, India's top private airline, can fly to selected destinations in the Gulf from Jan. 1, the civil aviation ministry said in a statement on Friday.

Jet had applied for rights to fly to Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Dubai and Abu Dhabi on July 18, the statement said, adding that the final two locations were still under consideration.

It gave no further details.

Jet will fly from New Delhi, Mumbai and Kerala.

Indian carriers are currently entitled to 85,481 seats per week on Gulf routes, of which they are using 58 percent, the ministry estimates.

Jet Airways already flies to South and southeast Asia, the United States, Canada, London and Brussels and plans to add more routes to Europe and North America.

It aims to get half its total revenue from overseas operations by 2009 as the domestic market becomes increasingly competitive.