Taking off with Jet: How one airline came to symbolize a new India, modern, aspirational, kind and cool
The shutdown of a few brands evokes intense emotions of generations of loyalists — Jet Airways is one such brand. Its closure this week nudges nostalgia, symbolises sentimentality and releases reflection. I watched with a heavy heart the viral clip of the last flight on the Amritsar runway as it prepared to take off for Mumbai. As a 20-something young adult, watching the demise of a 20-something airline was not just heartbreaking — it reminded me of what Jet Airways symbolised for an entire generation born in the mid-1990s.
I loved to travel but hated the journeys — Jet changed that for me as I took my first flight in life.
We heard legends from parents and other adults of the challenges of air travel. Sure, it was a privilege and a luxury to fly in the 1990s, but it was apparently no cakewalk either. One would have to pull favours, do jugaad, plan travel weeks or months in advance, stand in long queues to secure a spot on the national carrier, Indian Airlines for domestic and Air India for international.
Not us.
We were born in a time when private airlines began to take off in India and we began to see the end of Indian Airlines’ monopoly over airways. One could also just go to the family travel agent and ask for flights to be booked. I remember arguing with my parents at the travel agent’s office, wanting to fly Jet instead of Indian Airlines. For them, the state-run carrier symbolised credibility, safety and loyalty — for us, it was boring, lethargic and uninspiring.
On the other hand, Jet Airways was young, vibrant and raring to go. So were we.
Jet Airways was single-handedly responsible for inspiring so many from my generation to want to work in the aviation sector, as stewards & air hostesses (they were not called “flight attendants” back then), pilots, managers and owners.
Few wanted to work for Indian Airlines. Jet Airways was cool and aspirational, with brand value. Working for a company like Jet Airways meant being part of the high-flying club associated with good-looking people, fancy environs, travel, hospitality, food & wine — all in the skies!
My closest childhood friend recalled a lasting memory. When his flight from Chennai landed in Bangalore, there were not many passengers and he requested the air hostess if he could peek into the cockpit. He waited for a couple of minutes as she disappeared and reappeared with good news. Captain had agreed! He held my friend’s hand, placed it on a lever and pulled it back to shut the plane’s engine down. That day, my seven-year-old friend wanted to be a pilot. Jet Airways taught us that change was possible — that it was necessary to dream.
It was possible for us as Indians to start small — but think big.
We could be global and local simultaneously in our own ways.
Jet offered kids a travel experience like none other. I clearly remember guessing in glee about the gift I would receive on board. Would it be a pencil pouch? A toy? A toiletry kit? Some stationery or other branded merchandise? Or would it be my favourite — the colouring book with a set of crayons?
Before Jet, flights were a dull, dry experience for children. Jet revolutionised the flying experience for kids with its own versions of in-flight entertainment. It was so much fun to be rewarded every time you travelled, at that age.
If for adults, Jet had its Jet Privilege program, where miles are reward points, its younger flyers had their own loyalty program. Not a single friend fails to recall the joy of being given souvenirs from flights as gifts. They brought along exotic stories of different cultures and experiences right into our living rooms where our grandparents would create an event out of the act of gifting freebies. Jet showed us the ‘Good Times’ before anyone else — they were also the first in India to get in-flight entertainment systems on domestic economy-class flights, and their food was not nearly as bad as the others.
The other thing that Jet got really right was their customer service and engagement. The staff across the board was in general pleasant, helpful and efficient. It is just unfortunate that this sudden closure affects those who were integral to the success of the company the most. Jobless employees have been abandoned and while some have transitioned to competing airlines, few staunch loyalists are waiting it out. My neighbour is a pilot at Jet and believes it is undoubtedly the best airline to work for and that they are going through one of the most emotional phases of their careers. While competing carriers have been reaching out to him with job offers, he is hopeful of a revival.
However, the chances seem bleak.
It is distressing to see people who managed to hold it together through the trickiest of situations for years break down at protests — almost all my friends have an anecdote or two about a time when Jet staff either came to the rescue, or were simply kind. A friend who was running a severe temperature and travelling alone boarded a flight in Delhi, only to be hit with a bad headache. One air hostess offered to help and while my friend thought she was the only one who noticed, he soon realised he was wrong. Every staff member was kind and considerate that day. Another friend was pleased by the attention to detail when he was looked after well on his flight back home right out of college.
It’s usually the small things that count.
In the hospitality sector, it’s easy to wash away the sincerity of human emotion because of the constant need to be kind. Jet taught us that despite many flaws, compassion and kindness can go a long way.
Jet was not without shortcomings. The founder Naresh Goyal has been widely criticised for being the cause of the downfall. Others hold the international markets and domestic aviation policies responsible. Whatever version of the truth you choose to believe, I wonder what investigative journalist Josy Joseph would have to say at this moment, considering he was sued by Jet and Goyal for a whopping Rs 1000 crores. Joseph’s book — A Feast of Vultures: The Hidden Business of Democracy in India — had alleged intelligence agencies had given inputs of links between a mafia don and Jet Airways' promoter in the early 2000s. We learnt that things can go terribly wrong if the one at the top does not have the fundamentals right. The glitz and glam of branding and image management will get you only so far.
The staff was Jet’s best brand ambassador — and way more effective than any Maharaja. The bittersweet story of Jet Airways’ rise and fall is a harsh reality check for those of us who grew up in the 90s. While several other private players shut shop, Jet persisted and survived. Looking at Jet, we believed that every circumstance can be tackled with swiftness and boldness. We believed India’s time had come to show the world what it could really do. Jet Airways rode the wave of the India growth story and symbolised what we believed would help make India a superpower.
This was around when APJ Abdul Kalam laid out Vision 2020 — his dream to see India developed by the year 2020.
We are less than a year from the deadline; Jet Airways doesn’t exist and we are far from being a developed country.
Dear Jet Airways, thank you for the wake-up call.
Also read: How Indian carriers sank in financial crises