747-400s painted up as Jetstar? Surely not, but back in 81/82 when Qantas has a whole lot of early model 747 parked up against the fence they did something radical - they put them back into service and operated them! At the time they figured, the planes were totally depreciated, the staff were there, so all Qantas had to pay for was the fuel. 82 was the year when fuel prices started to ease after a nasty couple of years.
So, whether the older planes are painted as Qantas or as Jetstar, why not operate them? A 747-400 with about 500 seats would be an ideal way to take lots of happy smiling faces to Bali or Hawaii. Australian Domestic Transcons. If the Qantas Group does want to get back into Southern Europe, arguably, a depreciated 747-400 would give them cheaper seats than a brand new 787 straight out of the factory, even operated by Jetstar.
Are the old planes letting them down? Do they get four good starts from the engines each time? Do they chew through the spare parts? They could still have a few more years of happy flying.