Brisbane-based JetGo hits financial turbulence
Glen Norris, The Courier-Mail
May 29, 2018 8:55pm
Subscriber only
JET NO GO? WE hope the old joke that to make a million bucks from an airline you start with $10 million doesn’t apply to Brisbane regional carrier JETGO. Chief executive Jason Ryder sent an email to staff last week warning them the carrier was facing increasingly tough financial times. JETGO runs scheduled flights to Townsville, Rockhampton, Dubbo, Wagga Wagga and other regional centres.But it has been experiencing a crash crunch due to unexpected maintenance costs and a key Japanese private equity firm not proceeding with a planned investment. JETGO appointed corporate advisers The Investment Collective to run the ruler over the business with a view to presenting a proposal to a group of new investors.JETGO managing director airlines Paul Bredereck tells your diarist that times are challenging but there is a plan to move forward. He says the company has cut its Brisbane-Tamworth route, saving about $70,000 a month, while there are now reduced services on other routes including to the Gold Coast. JETGO, which operates a fleet of five Embraer regional airliners, employs about 105 people and last year flew about 100,000 passengers.Bredereck says the carrier’s point-to-point service is popular with parents wanting to send their unattended children to visit their grandparents in regional centres because there is no need to change planes in Sydney and other major centres. JETGO also has been popular with regional folk wanting to attend medical appointments in Brisbane.The carrier was founded in 2011 by Ryder and Aaron Mulder, both experienced pilots. City Beat spies tell us the carrier provides a pretty nice service at a reasonable cost so let’s hope the needed cash is forthcoming. Running an airline can be a brutal business.