In Reply to: Jetstar International posted by NiLuh on Wednesday, 12. April 2006 at 07:10 Bali Time:
media release on 12th April, courtesy e-Travel Blackboard
"Jetstar has released plans to commence flights to 6 international destinations covering 9 international routes directly from Sydney, Melbourne or Brisbane.
The fully owned Qantas subsidiary will seek to commence long haul international flights from November 2006 operating an initial fleet of Airbus A330-200s offering two classes of service, subject to regulatory approval.
These will be the first international markets to be served from Australia under the Jetstar brand with wide bodied aircraft. Jetstar successfully commenced its first international services last December operating some trans Tasman flights from Christchurch with its existing fleet of narrow bodied Airbus A320s.
Jetstar's proposed launch network for its long haul international services will operate either between Sydney, Melbourne and/or Brisbane to:
Thailand Bangkok and Phuket)
Japan (Osaka)
United States (Honolulu)
Indonesia Bali)
Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City)
Jetstar will seek to fly its inaugural long haul international service from Melbourne International Airport, and has commenced the process of upgrading its Air Operator Certificate to operate wide bodied jet aircraft.
It will transition from an interim fleet of six A330-200 aircraft by mid 2007 to a fleet of 12 new Boeing 787 aircraft, with delivery of Jetstar's first B787 scheduled for August 2008.
Qantas Chief Executive Officer Geoff Dixon made the announcement in Melbourne at Jetstar's corporate headquarters, where an additional 50 positions have been created to support the carrier's international growth plans.
Jetstar Chief Executive Alan Joyce said an anticipated 550 new direct jobs would be created in Jetstar with the move into long haul international flying with the A330-200 fleet.
Jetstar's launch international markets operated by four A330-200 aircraft include:
Sydney - Honolulu 3 per week
Melbourne - Honolulu 2 per week
Sydney - Bali 2 per week
Melbourne - Bali 2 per week
Sydney - Phuket 3 per week
Melbourne - Bangkok 3 per week
Sydney - Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City)3 per week
Sydney - Osaka (Kansai) Daily
Osaka (Kansai) - Brisbane - Sydney Daily
Mr Joyce said Jetstar's long haul international services would achieve the lowest cost air operations of all international carriers operating in Australia.
'This will allow Jetstar to sustainably offer low fares to customers flying long haul directly between Australia to new and fast growing overseas destinations for the Qantas Group,' Mr Joyce said.
'Jetstar is committed to offering the lowest fares on the markets we will serve in the future.
'Jetstar will fly point to point between Sydney and Vietnam three times weekly, serve Bali and Hawaii directly from both Sydney and Melbourne, and enter the Japanese market for the first time.
'The commencement of a daily direct two class Jetstar service between Sydney - Osaka and a return daily flight direct from Osaka to Brisbane and onto Sydney is a major proactive step by the Qantas Group in working to restore growth in inbound Japanese visitation to Australia.'
Mr Joyce said Jetstar would launch its fares and flight schedule for its initial long haul services along with features surrounding a two class international inflight product in June.
Jetstar will offer two classes of travel on its long haul international services - StarClass and Economy Class. The A330-200 is configured to 303 seats including 38 in ‘StarClass', Jetstar's premium cabin.
'StarClass will offer a seat similar to a Qantas Domestic Business Class seat. Benefits will include in- seat power, Qantas Frequent Flyer points and Status Credits, meals and beverages and video on demand,' Mr Joyce said.
Some of the features of Jetstar's international product would include:
Assigned seating with online seat selection at Jetstar.com;
All leather seating in both StarClass and Economy;
Passenger interlining for international connections on selected airlines in line with Jetstar's trans Tasman product;
Video on Demand; Qantas Frequent Flyer points and Status Credit points earned on JetFlex and StarClass fares and access to Qantas lounges for Qantas Club members. Qantas Frequent Flyer redemptions on all flights; Qantas Codeshare arrangement on all flights.
Jetstar also announced that one of Australia's leading and most influential chefs, Mr Neil Perry, would work with Jetstar on the design and customer service delivery of its future international inflight offering for its long haul flights.
Mr Perry has been consulting to Qantas on menu development for the past 8 years.
Mr Joyce said Jetstar would aspire to have the highest quality inflight product and welcomed Neil Perry's involvement in the implementation of the airline's approach to providing an innovative and appealing inflight service."