A-I London flight with Jet aircraft, crew

Do not be shocked if you buy a ticket from Air-India for a London trip and, while boarding the flight, you find it's a Jet Airways flight. What's more, the cabin crew and hospitality staff are also from Jet.

Yes, this is what is happening to Ahmedabad passengers. On account of shortage of aircraft, Air-India has leased Airbus 340-300 aircraft from Jet Airways for a month.

Jet Airways (India) and Air India have signed a short-term agreement for the wet lease by Air India of Jet Airways' A340-300E aircraft for operating a daily flight between Mumbai and London.

"It is a wet lease agreement with Jet Airways and would continue till July 27, till we get our new aircraft for London operations. Under the wet lease agreement, all the cabin crew and staff remains the same," D Kishore, manager, Gujarat, Air-India said.

Under this agreement Jet Airways will provide the aircraft, the cockpit and cabin crew and will be responsible for the total maintenance of the aircraft. Air-India, will, however, provide the inflight catering on these flights and operate them as its own flights.

Air-India has recently expanded its fleet by inducting 14 aircraft -- three Boeing 747 and eleven Airbus 310s -- on dry lease. The induction of these aircraft has enabled Air India to enhance frequencies to many destinations and introduce several new flights.

"We have leased our aircraft to Air India, under which all the cabin crew and staff are of Jet Airways," said a senior Jet Airways official in Ahmedabad.

Air India is also engaged in an exercise to evaluate its requirements for induction of long range and short range aircraft during the period up to 2008. Induction of these aircraft will help Air-India enhance its global network.

Says D Awasthi, airport director, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport: "As per norms, an airline having shortage of aircraft may lease it from any other airline and there is nothing wrong in it."