QF dead ? Doubt it.
For those who have worked in the 'inner sanctum', or at least been fortunate to have been on talking terms with one of the upper echelon would know that the plan for QF to revert back to a Red Tail International entity while flicking domestic operations over to a cheaper brand was on the drawing board 6 years ago, in ink, it is nothing new !
This is not a new strategy, nor should it be seen as a new concept, its just that as economies decline worldwide the QF Group hasten to achieve this objective planned a long time ago.
Sorry to disapoint or be the bearer of bad tidings. But the strategy, not very complex in itself, is actually old old news.
From today's Australian -
Jetstar's Bruce Buchanan says the domestic expansion is expected to generate more than 200 jobs.
Source: The Australian
JETSTAR will add 700,000 domestic seats and 77 new return flights in the first half of next year as it ramps up its Australian presence and embarks on one of its biggest expansions since starting service in 2004.
The airline will bring in five additional domestic aircraft in the first half, one of them an operational spare, as it significantly boosts services between Melbourne and Sydney and popular east coast leisure destinations.
The move will increase Jetstar's market share to about 18 per cent, ensuring Qantas Group meets its self-imposed rule that it retain at least 65 per cent of the domestic market.
It expects passenger numbers to increase by 7 per cent from the 2009 financial year total of 8.1 million.
"It's a big step for us," Jetstar chief executive Bruce Buchanan said yesterday. "We did the biggest ever launch back in 2004 and this step up is about half what we launched with back then."
The low-cost Qantas offshoot is responding to strong demand on routes from Sydney and Melbourne to the Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Cairns, Newcastle and Tasmania.
Mr Buchanan said 700,000 seats would ensure there was enough low-fare capacity in the market to enable Jetstar to meet its commitment to have the lowest fares in the marketplace
He said the domestic expansion was expected to generate more than 200 flight and cabin crew jobs, as well as a string of promotions for pilots.
He said there would also be jobs in engineering, airports, call centres and the like.
"So it does create a lot of excitement and energy in the organisation and that's quite good," Mr Buchanan said.
The expansion comes after a year of uncharacteristically flat capacity growth for the airline.
However, Jetstar was one of the few profitable divisions for Qantas in 2009, recording an 18 per cent increase in pre-tax profit to $137 million, while its parent posted a $117m net profit for the year ending on June 30, down from $969m the previous year.
The move is also part of a bigger expansion -- Jetstar will next year add 15 aircraft to its narrow body fleet.
As well as the five planes coming to Australia, three will go to Singapore in the first half. The group will also add a widebody Airbus A330 this month and two more are due to arrive late next year.
Mr Buchanan said a decision was yet to be made on where the remaining seven aircraft would be deployed in the second half.
He said the airline was expanding into its heartland from a position of strength after a record 2008-09 profit of $137m and a profit margin 23 per cent better than its competitors.
Mr Buchanan said this meant the airline would be able to expand profitably.
"It's where we started in 2004 and it's really going in and continuing to cement what have been very strong positions for us in those markets over quite a number of years," he said.