The following is a cut and paste from an Indian newspaper that suggests the "bastard childs " business model might be
finding things a little tough in the international arena............
Jetstar may clip its wings in India
Madhumita Mookerji
Wednesday, December 20, 2006 21:46 IS
KOLKATA: Jetstar Asia, the first low-cost overseas carrier to have entered India, is said to be reviewing its India operations.
If market rumours are any indication, it may even take a call on withdrawing its operations from the country. Jetstar officials, when contacted in Singapore over phone, did not respond. Officials from the carrier’s general sales agent (GSA) in India, the Bird Group, said: “Nothing is definite at the moment.” It seems a meeting is slated between the carrier and the GSA some time later this month, when a decision could be taken.
At present, the Singapore-based carrier operates only out of Bangalore — three times a week. It had started in India from Kolkata in August 2005, offering fares as low as about Rs 6,000 for a Kolkata-Singapore-Kolkata round trip.
However, the carrier withdrew operations from Kolkata in less than a year. According to industry sources, cut-throat competitive pricing from a rival carrier, along with poor load factor, forced the carrier to withdraw operations from Kolkata. A full-service carrier operating on the same route, sources said, also brought down its fares to about Rs 6,000 for a round ticket on the Kolkata-Singapore-Kolkata sector.
Passengers found such an offer hard to resist, especially since it was a full-service carrier, with meals included in the ticket. Passengers had to buy meals on board Jetstar. Sources also said the average load factor on the 180-seater aircraft was about 35%, which can make operations unviable to sustain.
http://www.dnaindia.com/report.asp?NewsID=1070407