If JQ's experience with outsourced maintenance providers is far from ideal, why does it work with Virgin and Tiger? Or isn't it? Keep in mind, Newcastle is in-house. It's not all outsourced unlike the others.
Newcastle would be fine as a heavy maint. facility for 10 A320's. Not the nearly 50 Jetstar have about the place. Jetstar have been procrastinating for the last 18 months as to where to build a second heavy maintenance facility. Mind you, they could be deliberately doing that until a cheaper and nastier option in asia presents itself. Again though, a new maintenance facility here requires investment in something other than marketing. And the bean counters who run airlines these days, that make decisions based merely on the next fiscal quarter as opposed to the next decade, can't stomach that.
As for Jetstar setting up their own line maint in Darwin, there is only one thing missing. Qualified and experienced staff willing to accept the poor pay and conditons. Unlike cabin crew and even tech crew, there is a worldwide shortage of engineers. So, the supply and demand curve certainly isn't in the favour of any LCC at the moment.Why would anybody leave any other airline or MRO for less money and worse conditions at Jetstar? If you think the answer is some 457 visas, think again. The only way for Jetstar to remedy that is for Jetstar to improve their pay and conditions to attract experienced staff (God forbid they should have their own apprentice scheme). But no, can't do that. Increase in pay and conditions erodes the coveted cost base (and managerial kpi bonus). Stuck in a catch 22. If Qantas engineering or Virgin Blue engineering decided to expand and aggressively recruit, I suspect the guys at Jetstar would jump at the chance to earn more money with better entitlements.
As for Virgin, they do all their own line maintenance these days. Jetcare no longer has the gig. Tiger, they're stuck with JHAS until they try to follow Virgin's lead I suspect.