Jetstar Asia Airways
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| Founded | 2004 | |||
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| Hubs | Singapore Changi Airport | |||
| Focus cities | Kansai International Airport | |||
| Frequent-flyer program | Qantas Frequent Flyer | |||
| Airport lounge | Qantas Club | |||
| Fleet size | 22 | |||
| Destinations | 21 | |||
| Parent company | Westbrook Investments | |||
| Headquarters | Singapore Changi Airport | |||
| Key people |
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| Website | jetstar.com | |||
Jetstar Asia Airways Pte Ltd (operating as Jetstar Asia) (Chinese: 捷星亚洲) is a low-cost airline based in Singapore. It is one of the Asian offshoots of parent Jetstar Airways, the low-cost subsidiary airline of Australia's Qantas airline. It operates services to regional destinations in Southeast Asia to countries such as Burma, Cambodia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. It also flies to regional routes in East Asia such as Japan, Taiwan and China including special regions like Hong Kong and Macau. It is the main feeder airline for its parent company Jetstar Airways for budget passengers flying to Australia. Its sister airlines include Jetstar in New Zealand, Jetstar Pacific and Jetstar Japan.
History
Jetstar Asia was launched in 2004 as a partnership between Qantas, holding a 49% stake in the airline, Singaporean businessmen Tony Chew (22%) and FF Wong (10%) and the Singapore government's investment company, Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited (19%).[1] It received its Air Operator's Certificate from the Singapore government on 19 November 2004.[2]
Due to its belated entry into the market, the airline differentiated itself from its competitors by flying further; anywhere within a 5-hour radius from Singapore while its competitors flew to destinations within a 4-hour radius from Singapore. The airline announced 7 routes to Shanghai, Hong Kong, Taipei, Pattaya, Jakarta, Surabaya and Manila; the most ambitious start-up plan compared to any of its Asian rivals, which would have given it the widest international coverage.
Online ticketing commenced at 0800 hours (8GMT) on 7 December 2004, a day after the first three routings and their promotional prices were announced, namely S$48 (HK$228) to Hong Kong, S$88 (NT1788) to Taipei and S$28 (Bht725) to Pattaya on a one-way ticket for all seats in the first week of operations as each routing was launched. Flights to Manila began in 2005. As part of its differentiation, Jetstar flew to Ninoy Aquino International Airport instead of the cheaper Clark International Airport in Angeles City.
However, services to certain announced destinations (Shanghai, Jakarta and Surabaya) could not be started. The non-start of flights to Shanghai was because China's aviation authority did not allow foreign budget airlines flying to both Shanghai and Beijing airports. Flights to Indonesia were not allowed as Indonesia's government embarked a policy of protectionism. Existing flights by low-fare airlines, such as Valuair's flights to Jakarta and Denpasar as well as Tiger Airways' service to Padang, were not revoked.
Despite facing a difficult market, Jetstar Asia took delivery of a fifth aircraft in 2005 and sought approval for new routes. Jetstar planned to lease the aircraft from Atlasjet Airways, but the aircraft was later withdrawn from the lease arrangement. Discussions were held with Qantas to source additional aircraft. In 2005, the budget carrier began seeking approval from Cambodian authorities to fly to Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, and was eventually granted rights.
Hot on the heels of Tiger Airways' success on the Phuket route, Jetstar Asia announced 4 times weekly flights to Phuket. The flight commenced on 25 October 2005, however due to inconsistent demand and better opportunities elsewhere, Jetstar announced the suspension of flights to Phuket on 27 March 2008.
By the end of December, it was clear that Jetstar Asia was bleeding cash and its investors were struggling to finance the airline. On 2 December 2005, Jetstar Asia announced that its chief executive officer (CEO), Ken Ryan, was stepping down to return to Australia. Mr Ryan would take on a new management role at Orange Star's majority shareholder Qantas and was replaced at the helm by Neil Thompson. On 9 February 2006, Jetstar Asia appointed Singaporean Chong Phit Lian as the airline's new CEO, replacing interim CEO Neil Thompson.
On 26 July 2006, Qantas decided to re-position both of its Jetstar ventures in Australia and Singapore as a single brand. This was followed by a launch of Jetstar's long-haul operations to six destinations in South-east Asia from Australia.[citation needed]
On 15 September 2006, Jetstar Asia became the first international airline to land at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport.[3]
On 16 April 2008, Jetstar Asia announced that it had reported a profit ahead of schedule, and ahead of local rival Tiger Airways. Both Jetstar Asia and sister airline Valuair saw a 20% increase in revenue, a 4% rise in passenger load and an overall 20% jump in passenger carriage for the year ending March 2008. The airline's CEO attributes its success to better brand awareness as well as an increased utilisation of aircraft, growing revenue and a broadening of the earning base.
On 16 April 2008, the company announced that it had achieved profitability for the year ended 31 March 2008, with an increase of 20% in the number of passengers carried and a passenger load factor of over 75%, an increase of 4% over the previous year.[4] Jetstar Asia carried 2.7 million passengers during the year to 30 June 2011, an increase of 18% on the previous year, and saw Revenue passenger kilometres increase by 39.7%,[5] as long-haul flights from Singapore to Auckland and Melbourne using Airbus A330 aircraft were launched.[6]
In March 2011, Jetstar launched flights to Hangzhou, China.
Merger with Valuair
Jetstar Asia and Valuair, another Singapore-based airline, merged on 24 July 2005, in the first major consolidation of South-east Asia's crowded and competitive low-cost airline industry. The airlines released a joint statement saying they would continue to operate their normal routes under their own brands in the meantime, with little or no change to the service offered by either airline. Qantas CEO and Jetstar Asia chairman Geoff Dixon chaired the new company.[7] Jetstar Asia CEO Chong Phit Lian was appointed as the chief executive of both airlines. The new company was due to receive a cash injection of more than 50 million Singapore dollars in fresh capital into the new entity, largely to be provided by Qantas. Shareholders of Valuair, including airline-industry veteran Lim Chin Beng, Malaysia's Star Cruises and Asiatravel.com, have now become minority shareholders in the merged company, Orange Star. Qantas owns 42.5% of both airlines after the merger.
Management changes
In December 2011 the airline announced that CEO Chong Phit Lian was to step down from 1 February 2012 after leading the airline for six years, to pursue opportunities outside the aviation sector. Ms Chong will remain a member of the Jetstar Asia board, meanwhile Paul Daff, formerly head of the Qantas Group Jetconnect subsidiary in New Zealand and previously Head of Commercial for Jetstar Asia, will act as Interim CEO while a successor is recruited.[8]
In March 2011 it was announced that Mr Barathan (Bara) Pasupathi, former CFO of Jetstar Asia, had been appointed as CEO to take effect from 2 July 2012.[9]
Ownership structure
The ownership structure is composed of Westbrook Investments (51%) and Qantas Group (49%). Newstar Holdings is the holding company that operates and manages Jetstar in Singapore.
Jetstar, Valuair sign code share deal with Qantas
Jetstar Asia and Valuair have formed a code share partnership with parent Qantas, effectively making them the regional feeder lines for the Australian carrier, similar to the role SilkAir plays for Singapore Airlines.
With the code share arrangement Jetstar Asia/Valuair will effectively and seamlessly connect Qantas' customers, through their common Singapore Changi Airport hub, to their extensive and growing Asia Pacific network.[10]
Achievement & awards
- 'Best Brand Experience for Low Cost Carrier' by Ad Asia Magazine
- 'Best Low Cost Airline, Southeast Asia & Asia (2006 & 2008)' -Skytrax Award
- 'Top 10 Airlines by Passenger Carriage (2006 & 2007)' -Changi Airline Award from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore (CAAS)
- 'Best Asian Low-Cost Carrier (2006 & 2007)' -as well as TTG Travel Awards
In-Flight
Seating
Jetstar Asia aircraft feature leather seats with a seat pitch of 30 inches and passengers may purchase online seat selection and allocation.[11]
Food and beverage
Passengers may purchase food and beverage on board from the cabin crew as part of a buy on board programme called JetCafe.[12] On flights operated by Jetstar Asia, passengers may only consume food and drinks purchased on board unless they have special medical or dietary needs.[13]
Destinations
Jetstar currently offers more than 400 flights per week. Jetstar Asia(including JetStar Airways, ValuAir) flies from Singapore to 25 cities in 13 countries throughout Asia.[11]
Codeshare agreements
Fleet
As of 31 October 2013, the Jetstar Asia Airways fleet consists of the following aircraft:
| Aircraft | In Service | Orders | Passengers | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J | Y | Total | ||||
| Airbus A320-200 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 180 | 180 | Short & Medium Haul |
| Total | 19 | 0 | ||||
See also
References
- ↑ Simpson, Monica (30 September 2004). "Jetstar Asia Launch". Travel Weekly Australia. Retrieved 25 August 2011.
- ↑ AirAsia In The Press, 25 July 2005
- ↑ Jetstar Asia at the head of Suvarnabhumi queue
- ↑ "Qantas budget carrier Jetstar reports FY profit ahead of schedule". Forbes. 16 April 2008. Archived from the original on 21 April 2008.
- ↑ "Qantas Airways Limited Preliminary Financial Report FY to 30 June 2011, Page 26". Qantas Airways Limited. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
- ↑ Francis, Leithen (9 June 2010). "Jetstar starting Singapore flights to Auckland and Melbourne". Flight International. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
- ↑ Park, Kyunghee (24 July 2005). "Singapore's Valuair, Jetstar Asia Agree to Combine". Bloomberg. Retrieved 27 August 2011.
- ↑ "Jetstar Asia CEO to step down". Jetstar Airways. 15 December 2011. Retrieved 19 December 2011.
- ↑ "New CEO for Jetstar Asia". Jetstar Airways. 27 March 2012. Retrieved 28 March 2012.
- ↑ "." Jetstar Asia Airways. Accessed 1 January 2011.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 Cheap Flights Australia | Cheap International and Domestic Airfares. Jetstar (1992-10-24). Retrieved on 2013-07-16.
- ↑ "Jetshop.cafe." Jetstar Asia Airways. Accessed 10 November 2008.
- ↑ "In the air." Jetstar Asia Airways. Accessed 10 November 2008.
- ↑ List of aircraft on Singapore Register retrieved 1 November 2013
External links
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