Sydney, 16 August (Argus) — Australian airline Qantas launched today the Japanese domestic airline Jetstar Japan with Japan Airlines (JAL) and Japanese trading house Mitsubishi, part of its strategy to bolster earnings from its international operations that have been pressured by high fuel prices affecting demand.
Qantas, JAL and Mitsubishi will each hold a third stake in the airline, which will start operations by the end of 2012 and plans to fly from Narita airport in Tokyo and Kansai international in Osaka. The new airline will also consider flying to Sapporo, Fukuoka and Okinawa, as well as short-haul international flights to other Asian cities that are likely to be in China and South Korea. Jetstar is the budget airline subsidiary of Qantas, which has been flying between Australia and Japan since 2007.
The launch of Jetstar Japan comes as Qantas has been looking at ways to expand its international operations following its original warning in March when it cut international capacity growth to 7pc from 10pc for the fiscal year ending 30 June 2012. Qantas has raised fares and fuel surcharges several times this year in response to higher jet fuel prices.
Jetstar Japan will initially have a fleet of three Airbus A320 aircraft, configured for 180 customers in a single class. This is forecast to rise to 24 aircraft within its first few years. The three partners have a commitment to spend up to ¥12bn ($156mn) on the new airline. Qantas and JAL are already partners in the OneWorld airline alliance that code share flights.
Qantas also announced it would acquire up to 110 Airbus A320 aircraft, plus 194 purchase rights and options, to support fleet renewal and capacity expansion for the next 10-15 years. The new aircraft will aid capacity growth across Jetstar's domestic and international operations, including the launch of Jetstar Japan. But Qantas will defer previous orders for delivery of six Airbus A380s — the world's largest commercial passenger plane.
Qantas will also start direct flights between Sydney and Santiago in Chile to add to its service to Buenos Aires in Argentina, which is the only flight Qantas provides to South America.
Send comments to feedback@argusmedia.com
km/rjd 2.4
If you would like to review other ArgusMedia.com content options, request more information about Argus' energy news, data and analysis services.
Copyright © 2011 Argus Media Ltd - www.ArgusMedia.com - All rights reserved.
