Jet Airways may soon fly from Mumbai to Shanghai to San Francisco with a breakthrough in the talks on air connectivity between India and China.
The controversial issue is supposed to have been resolved following the security clearance given by India to cargo flights by China's Great Wall Airlines to Mumbai and Chennai.
New Delhi's move is expected to encourage Beijing to grant long-pending clearance to Air India and Jet Airways to launch flights to Chinese cities of Guangzhou and Shanghai, respectively. Air India already operates to Shanghai. This is also one of the highlights of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's current visit to China.
Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal, who is part of the prime minister's business delegation to China, has said that if the permission is granted, India's top private airline could launch its flight to the San Francisco via Shanghai as early as next month.
In reciprocation, Great Wall Airlines would also be allowed to fly to more Indian cities. India had earlier offered Great Wall Airlines the right to operate to Delhi as a point of call instead of the two Indian metros, which was not accepted by the Chinese side.
India had taken the stand in the wake of blacklisting of the carrier by the United States for its alleged involvement in transfer of missile technology to Iran. As a result of the American decision, the Chinese cargo carrier had folded up operations for six months. However, it revived in early last year with its controlling stakes going to Beijing Aerospace Satellite Applications Corporation.
Following denial of Indian permission, China also held up clearance to Air India to operate to Guangzhou and Jet Airways to fly to San Francisco via Shanghai.
Additional inputs: PTI
