Having begun flights to the United States last month, Jet Airways introduced five weekly flights from Toronto to New Delhi on September 5.

In an interview with Rediff India Abroad Senior Editor Ajit Jain in Toronto, Jet Chairman Naresh Goyal says he believes that one day Jet Airways will become the world's best airline.

He still remembers how he started working for a travel agency in 1967, when he was 18. His starting salary was Rs 300 or $40 per month. He said he got his break in 1993 when Manmohan Singh, then India's finance minister, deregulated the airline industry.

"We got four small planes and Manmohan Singh said you can fly within the country."

Jet Airways now has 90 planes -- Boeing 737s & 777s and Airbuses. The carrier has ordered 30 more planes for $2.5 billion.

The company employs 10,000 people and its revenue during the fiscal year 2006-07 was $1.4 billion. Jet sees its revenues growing to $3.5 billion by 2011.

"We have created a brand name -- Jet Airways -- that India is proud of, Indians are proud of," Goyal said. "But we still have a long way to go."

Image: Naresh Goyal, founder and chairman, Jet Airways at a Mumbai event to showcase the airline's new logo and uniform, April 16, 2007. Photograph: Indranil Mukherjee/AFP/Getty Images

Also read: Naresh Goyal on Jet's US foray

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