Jetstar Asia Airways

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Jetstar Airways

IATA 3K ICAO JSA Callsign JETSTAR ASIA
Founded	2004
Hubs	Singapore Changi Airport
Frequent flyer program	Qantas Frequent Flyer
Member lounge	Qantas Club
Fleet size	7
Destinations	11
Parent company	Newstar
Headquarters	Singapore
Key people	Ms Chong Phit Lian (CEO), Mr Choo Teck Wong, Denis (Chairman)
Website	http://www.jetstar.com

Jetstar Asia Airways Private Limited (Chinese: 捷星亚洲航空公司), operating as Jetstar Asia, is a low-cost airline headquartered in Singapore.^[1] It is the Asian offshoot of Qantas' Jetstar Airways. It operates services to regional destinations. Its main base is Singapore Changi Airport.^[2] On April 16, 2008, the company announced that it had achieved profitability for the year ended March 31, 2008, with an increase of 20 per cent in the number of passengers carried and a passenger load factor of over 75 per cent, an increase of 4 per cent over the previous year.^[3]

History

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Jetstar Asia was started with Qantas having a 49 per cent stake in the airline. The other shares were held by the Singapore government's investment company, Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited (19 per cent) and two prominent Singaporean businessmen, Tony Chew (22 per cent) and FF Wong (10 per cent). It received its Air Operator's Certificate from the Singapore government on November 19, 2004.^[4]

Due to its belated entry into the market, the airline differentiated itself from its competitors by flying further; anywhere within a five-hour radius from Singapore while its competitors flew to destinations within a four-hour radius from Singapore. The airline announced seven 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 December 7, 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 Diosdado Macapagal International Airport in Angeles City.

Jetstar Asia Airways Airbus A320 at Singapore Changi Airport.

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 four-times-weekly flights to Phuket. The flight commenced on October 25, 2005, however due to inconsistent demand and better opportunities elsewhere, Jetstar announced the suspension of flights to Phuket on March 27, 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 December 2, 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 February 9, 2006, Jetstar Asia appointed Singaporean Chong Phit Lian as the airline's new CEO, replacing interim CEO Neil Thompson.

On July 26, 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 September 15, 2006, Jetstar Asia became the first international airline to land at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport.^{[citation needed]}

On August 13, 2007, Jetstar Asia moved to Hong Kong International Airport's Terminal Two. Passengers would check-in at the new facility and board the flight at the existing passenger terminal building at Terminal One via an automated people-mover system.

On April 16, 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 per cent increase in revenue, a 4 per cent rise in passenger load and an overall 20 per cent 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.

Jetstar Asia (3K)- Valuair(VF) merger

Jetstar Asia and Valuair merged on July 24, 2005, in the first major consolidation of South-east Asia's crowded low-cost airline industry. Jetstar Asia and Valuair said 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. 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 per cent of both airlines after the merger.

Ownership

Newstar, the new owner of Jetstar Asia, is itself 49 per cent owned by Australia’s Qantas. It is also the 100 per cent owner of Valuair. Dennis Khoo is the other shareholder in Newstar, and is a long-time regional partner of Qantas.

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 free online seat selection and allocation.

Food and beverage

Passengers may purchase food and beverage on board from the cabin crew as part of a buy on board programme called Star Cafe.^[5] On flights operated by Jetstar Asia, passengers may only consume food and drinks purchased on board unless they have special dietary needs.^[6]

Destinations

Jetstar currently offers up to 350 flights per week. Jetstar Asia flies from Singapore to 23 cities in 13 countries throughout Asia

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Future plans

There are plans to add destinations in India, China as well as establishing joint ventures in Asia. Jetstar Asia plans to fly twice daily to Tokyo Haneda by late 2010 have suffered a setback.^[9][10]

Code-share partners

• Jetstar Airways
• Valuair
• Jetstar Pacific Airlines
• Myanmar Airways International

Fleet

As of November 2009, the Jetstar Asia Airways fleet comprises the following aircraft:^[11]

References

External links

• Jetstar Asia Airways
• Jetstar Asia Airways Fleet Detail

A	B	C
Kuala Lumpur	Kota Kinabalu	Kuching	Penang,	Perth-JKT-SG	Ho Chi Minh	Yangon
Jakarta	Medan	Surabaya	Bali	Taipei	Hong Kong	Phnom Penh
Macau	Haikou (china)	Shantou(china)	Bangkok	Phuket	Siem Reap	Manila	Singapore
v • d • e Airlines of Singapore Jetstar Asia Airways · Jett8 Airlines Cargo · SilkAir · Singapore Airlines · Singapore Airlines Cargo · Tiger Airways · Valuair