Jetstar Airways
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For the aircraft, see Lockheed JetStar. For Jetstar's sister airlines, see Jetstar Asia Airways, Jetstar Pacific or Valuair.
| Jetstar Airways | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| IATA JQ |
ICAO JST |
Callsign JETSTAR |
| Founded | 2004 | |
| Hubs | Melbourne Airport | |
| Secondary hubs | Brisbane Airport Sydney Airport |
|
| Focus cities | Darwin International Airport | |
| Frequent flyer program | Qantas Frequent Flyer | |
| Member lounge | Qantas Club | |
| Fleet size | 35 [1] (+89 orders, 40 Options) | |
| Destinations | 30 | |
| Parent company | Impulse Airlines Holdings Pty Ltd | |
| Company slogan | It's All About Choice / Fly Away | |
| Headquarters | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | |
| Key people | Alan Joyce (CEO) | |
| Website: www.jetstar.com | ||
Jetstar Airways is a low-cost airline based in Melbourne, Australia. It is a subsidiary of Qantas, created in response to the threat posed by low-cost airline Virgin Blue. It operates an extensive domestic network and regional and some international services. Its main base is Melbourne Airport.[2] It has a sister operation called Jetstar Asia/Valuair which has an extensive operation through out Asia. Jetstar took over the Singapore-Darwin-Cairns route previously operated by Jetstar Asia from 1 February 2008. On 23 May 2008, Jetstar Pacific was launched (the 18% Qantas owned ex-Pacific Airlines) to provide new destinations in Vietnam.
Contents |
[edit] History
The airline was established by Qantas in 2003 as a low-cost domestic subsidiary. Qantas had previously acquired Impulse Airlines and relaunched the airline under the Jetstar brand.[2] Domestic passenger services began on 25 May 2004, soon after the sale of tickets for her inaugural flight in February 2004. International services to Christchurch, New Zealand, commenced on 1 December 2005. Although owned by Qantas, its management operates largely independent of Qantas through the company formerly known as Impulse Airlines - an airline acquired by Qantas on 20 November 2001.
Despite its low-cost ethos, Jetstar currently offers a limited number of connecting services without through baggage checking - though this has changed since international flights commenced in November 2006 when baggage connectivity and connecting services were added as a service offering for domestic flights connecting with international flights only.
Reserved seating is currently provided on all routes and on 4 October 2006, Jetstar became the first Australian airline to allow customers to select their seat upon booking.[3]
The first flight of sister airline Jetstar Asia Airways took off from its Singapore hub to Hong Kong on 13 December 2004. This marked Qantas' entry into the Asian low-cost market and signified its intention to battle key competitor Singapore Airlines on its home ground. Qantas has a 42.5% stake in Jetstar Asia's ownership. (See Jetstar Asia Airways)
On December 1, 2005, Jetstar commenced operations from 4 Australian cities Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast to Christchurch in New Zealand. On December 7, 2005, it was announced that Jetstar would establish the world's first global low cost airline flying initially to destinations within 10 hours of Australia but later to operate to Europe and the Americas. At the end of 2005, it was announced that Jetstar would fly to Perth, Western Australia from Melbourne's Avalon Airport.
In July 2006, Jetstar and Jetstar Asia were brought together under the Jetstar brand.[4] Jetstar, Jetstar Asia Airways and Valuair customers now make all online bookings through Jetstar.com.
[edit] Destinations
Jetstar Airways operate scheduled flights between 21 Australian destinations:[5]
-
New South Wales
- Ballina (Ballina Airport))
- Newcastle (Williamtown Airport)
- Sydney (Kingsford Smith International Airport) flights depart from Terminal 2
Northern Territory
Queensland
- Brisbane (Brisbane Airport)
- Cairns (Cairns International Airport)
- Hervey Bay (Hervey Bay Airport)
- Gold Coast (Gold Coast Airport)
- Hamilton Island (Hamilton Island Airport)
- Mackay (Mackay Airport)
- Maroochydore (Sunshine Coast Airport)
- Proserpine (Proserpine Airport)
- Rockhampton (Rockhampton Airport)
- Townsville (Townsville International Airport)
South Australia
Tasmania
.svg/22px-Flag_of_Victoria_(Australia).svg.png)
Victoria
Western Australia
[edit] Possible Future Routes
Currently, Jetstar is investigating a number of new routes which include:
- Brisbane, Darwin and Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur [6]
- Melbourne to Rome and Athens utilising Boeing 787 aircraft [7]
[edit] Fleet
| Aircraft | # | Seats | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Airbus A320-200 | 27 (56 on order) | 177 | VH-JQG/L/W and X and VH-VQG to VH-VQZ 7 of these aircraft will be delivered from November 2007. The other 51 of these will be delivered from February 2008. Jetstar has also 40 options and purchase rights. Some of the aircraft are flying the Sydney/Brisbane/Melbourne/Gold Coast-Christchurch International Route. 1 aircraft is flying the Cairns-Darwin-Singapore route (codeshare with Jetstar Asia). |
| Airbus A321-200 | 2 (16 on order) | 213 | The first (VH-VWX) of which would be delivered on 23 February 2008. Used on Australian Domestic (Cairns - Melbourne), Long Haul (Darwin, Perth to Asia). This will be the first Airbus A321 registered in Australia. |
| Airbus A330-200 | 6 | 303 | First four aircraft for Jetstar International (VH-EBA to VH-EBD) have been transferred from Qantas. VH-EBE and VH-EBF were delivered new from Airbus but are leased from their parent Qantas. 2 of the Aircraft are currently flying the 10 times weekly Cairns-Osaka-Nagoya Route. |
| Boeing 787-8 | (15 on order) | 250+ | To be used on Australian Domestic, Long Haul Routes (Europe, US West Coast Expansion). Following Boeing delays, the arrival of the first Dreamliner is now scheduled for late 2009. |
As of February 2008, Jetstar's average fleet age is 2.7 years.[8]
[edit] Previously operated
The launch fleet of Boeing 717s with 125 seats has been replaced with new Airbus A320s, fitted with 177 leather seats. This has since been augmented with the addition of Airbus A330s, operating on international services.
[edit] Marketing & Sponsorship
From 2004-2006, the airline's former mascot, Julie The Jetstar Girl was played by actress Magda Szubanski[citation needed].
The advertising slogan of Jetstar is "All day every day low fares". Two additional slogans have recently been used in its marketing campaigns; "Let's Fly Jetstar" (2004-2006) & "It's All About Choice / Fly Away" (July 1. 2006-future)
In 2007, Jetstar won the low-cost carrier section of the Skytrax World Airline Awards.[9]
Jetstar Airways is the major sponsor of the Gold Coast Titans rugby league team.
Jetstar Airways is a major sponsor of Channel Seven's programs include Sunrise, The Morning Show (both produced by a Seven News Production), and Deal Or No Deal[citation needed].
[edit] Incidents
Since commencing operation, the airline has encountered two in-flight incidents:
- On July 23, 2007, Jetstar Flight 30 flying from Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi to Melbourne Airport was forced to make an emergency landing at Bali/Denpasar (DPS) after an in-flight diagnostic shut down engine 1. The Airbus A330-200 VH-EBE was only three weeks old, and Jetstar is investigating the cause of the issue with Airbus. [10]
- On September 25, 2007, Jetstar Flight 1 flying from Melbourne Airport to Honolulu International Airport ten passengers became ill. The passengers, 3 seated in Starclass and the remainder in Economy, became sick within 2 and 4 1/2 hours into the flight. One of the passengers was taken to hospital on arrival in Honolulu and the remainder held in quarantine. No link between the food service and the mystery illness has been established.[11]
[edit] Discrimination Controversy
On December 13, 2007, Mr. Willy Law, a wheelchair-bound man, was barred from a flight from Hong Kong to Singapore. The airline explained that since he is unable to walk on his own and he could not be helped by others. This would cause problems if the plane landed in an airport without an air bridge, and the passengers needed to use the stairs to get on or off the plane. No refund was given. Mr. Law needed to purchase tickets on another airline to his destination. The other airlines do not have the same regulations against people with disabilities.[12]
[edit] Criticism & Complaints
In February 2008, Jetstar was forced to cancel many flights due to inclement weather in Sydney. Despite these uncontrollable cancellations, Jetstar did not provide accommodation. Given Sydney's domestic terminal curfew, stranded passengers were removed from the terminal by airport security. A Jetstar spokesperson later said that they did not provide any accommodation due to the inclement weather, as they could not control and blamed the airport for the mishandling of passengers.[citation needed]
[edit] Television series
The Nine Network began airing the series Going Places from October 2007. The 8-part series depicts the everyday lives of selected staff members of Jetstar, Sydney and Melbourne airport staff. The show follows the dramas of the check-in staff, mid-flight staff, and the induction program for new international recruits.
They also give away 2 return tickets to the destination of their choice each week.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Qantas FAQ
- ^ a b "Directory: World Airlines", Flight International, 2007-04-03, p. 98.
- ^ Jetstar Airways (19 June 2006). "Jetstar to move to allocated seating". Press release.
- ^ Jetstar Airways (26 July 2006). "Jetstar move to single brand and distribution approach to support growth in Asia". Press release.
- ^ http://www.jetstar.com/au/index/travel-info/destinations.html
- ^ Jetstar keen to add new routes. The Star. Retrieved on 2008-02-18.
- ^ Jetstar to Drop Melbourne Flights to Hawaii. The Age. Retrieved on 2008-04-09.
- ^ Jetstar Airways Fleet Age
- ^ Jetstar wins Best Low-Cost Airline Award for 2007
- ^ http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/07/23/1185042982638.html
- ^ http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,22483269-2862,00.html
- ^ Wheelchair traveller barred from flight
[edit] External links
|
|||||||||||||||||||
