Originally Posted by
PVDtoDEL
On the other hand, I would call what 9W did with S2 innovative. Keeping a completely separate airline under the same corporate umbrella, which can keep its own costs down but still enhance connectivity is an excellent idea. However, they made a bit of a hash of that idea as well - S2's costs are too high compared to 6E's or SG's... But the idea was a good one.
Jet had wanted to combine the 2 carriers but it is having to keep them separate for regulatory reasons. IIRC correctly, the delays were also due to the tax liability 9w picked up from sahara when they acquired the airline, which then went under litigation
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...cle1029226.ece
However, now with too many Jet brands floating around, they are combining Jet Konnect into Jetlite and will hold 2 licenses for 2 set of ops under one group holding company.
That's good. Even IT realized the problem that IT Red was causing, and they tried (far too late) to fold it into IT (FSC).
If 9W manages to have 2 distinct brands - 9W (FSC) and S2 (LCC), I think they would be in a good place... However, they also need to make sure that S2's cost base is in line with its LCC competition... Assuming they manage to do that, I think that this strategy could be successful... ^ Of course, it's all about implementation.