Wirraway
25th May 2004, 15:08
Wed "The Australian"
Jetstar takes off with high hopes
By Steve Creedy, Aviation writer
May 26, 2004
JETSTAR is hoping to capture two-thirds of all new domestic airline passengers as part of a strategy to protect parent airline Qantas' market share from fellow budget flyer Virgin Blue.
Jetstar chief executive Alan Joyce said yesterday the budget airline, which started flying yesterday, hoped to have about 20 per cent of the market within two years, with the Qantas main line dropping back to 45-50 per cent. That would leave Virgin frozen where it is today, with about a third of the market.
"With the aircraft we have on order we could be anywhere between 15 to 20 per cent in two years, with the A320s, and that helps the Qantas group maintain 65 per cent share," Mr Joyce said.
"There's still a line in the sand."
The comments came after Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon had earlier delivered a blunt assessment of Virgin boss Brett Godfrey's claim that his airline could become Australia's dominant domestic airline player.
"He's dreaming," Mr Dixon told ABC radio.
But Virgin Blue head of strategy David Huttner said the Brisbane-based carrier would continue to grow as it picked up disaffected Qantas customers as well as new passengers. "We're certainly seeing a lot of strong support in the regions where Qantas has downgraded itself to Jetstar," Mr Huttner said.
"In many ways, we see a lot of positive opportunity coming out of this change - and that's true from Rockhampton to Tasmania."
Jetstar launched services yesterday to 13 eastern seaboard destinations using a fleet of 14 125-seat Boeing 717s.
The airline will start adding bigger 177-seat A320 aircraft from July and expects to have an all-Airbus fleet of 23 aircraft within 12 to 18 months.
Jetstar and Virgin will be vying for new business stimulated by lower fares as well as trying to take passengers away from from each other. But this is unlikely to translate into many more of the super-low $29 fares with which Jetstar launched its assault on Virgin.
"Jetstar will be keeping fares, like with the Sydney-to-Melbourne flights, under $100, getting down there at $69," Mr Dixon said.
Mr Joyce estimated Jetstar was starting with about 6 to 7 per cent market share gained from the transfer of the Boeing 717s from Qantaslink. But he conceded Virgin Blue was "a good airline, good competition", which would set prices to avoid losing market share.
"So it's going to be competitive because I think Virgin are going to be after 50 per cent of the growth ... In order for us to keep our share, we're going to have to get 65 per cent of the growth," Mr Joyce said.
Jetstar was scheduled to fly 86 return flights on its first day and a spokesman said on-time performance to 4pm had been good. Passengers on the first flight, JQ371 to Melbourne, turned up at Newcastle airport as early as 3.30am for the historic occasion.
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Wed "Melbourne Age"
Jetstar breakfast - the cost
http://www.theage.com.au/ffxmedia/2004/05/25/jetstar_menu_2605.gif
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Wed "Sydney Morning Herald"
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/05/25/jetstarlanding,0.jpg
Jetstar's inaugural flight makes a successful landing in Melbourne. Photo: Craig Abraham
No leg room, warm beer - but everyone's happy
By Alexandra Smith and Scott Rochfort
May 26, 2004
There was no elbowing for a plum window spot or complaints from long-legged passengers about the cosy slimline seats.
Qantas's budget offshoot, Jetstar, had a no-frills feel to it - all but one of the 14 Boeing 717s remain white without a hint of the Jetstar brand - but the new airline had a smooth take-off yesterday.
The carrier completed 86 return flights in eastern Australia, to 13 destinations, from Hobart to Cairns. Not all flights were full but passengers, some of whom paid just $29 for a one-way ticket, were impressed.
"I thought it was a great flight and much better than some I fly in the States," said Tom Boghossian, a Los Angeles businessman who was on the 12.25pm Sydney-Gold Coast flight. Mr Boghossian, who visits Australia every year, described Jetstar as "roomy and so, so smooth".
The in-flight service, with sandwiches, snacks and alcohol for sale, was the only hiccup on that flight, according to two grandmothers who took advantage of the cheap fares to visit family. "The beer was warm, I paid $5 for a warm beer," said one of the women.
Jetstar, which does not allocate seating and has less leg room than Virgin Blue, was launched nine months after its parent, Qantas, first floated the idea of a budget arm to cater for Australia's leisure travel market.
Passengers on the first flight, which left Jetstar's Newcastle's maintenance base, landed in Melbourne and were greeted by Qantas executives and the airline's "mascot", comedian Magda Szubanski.
Jetstar expects to fly 800 flights a week by August, which compares with Qantas's 2500 services and Virgin Blue's 1600.
Jetstar plans to phase out its fleet of B717s by mid-2006, when it expects to have 23 A320s in service. Virgin will boost its fleet of Boeing 737s to 49 by next April. In March, Qantas announced plans to buy five new B737s for its domestic operations.
But there are concerns that Australia's aviation market could soon suffer from an over-supply of commercial aircraft.
On Monday, Virgin Blue reported a sharp decline in the proportion of available seats it filled - from 84 to 75 per cent - in the 12 months to April, as its fleet grew from 29 to 44.
On June 1, Jetstar will begin flights from Sydney and Brisbane to Avalon airport, 55 kilometres from Melbourne.
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Jetstar takes off with high hopes
By Steve Creedy, Aviation writer
May 26, 2004
JETSTAR is hoping to capture two-thirds of all new domestic airline passengers as part of a strategy to protect parent airline Qantas' market share from fellow budget flyer Virgin Blue.
Jetstar chief executive Alan Joyce said yesterday the budget airline, which started flying yesterday, hoped to have about 20 per cent of the market within two years, with the Qantas main line dropping back to 45-50 per cent. That would leave Virgin frozen where it is today, with about a third of the market.
"With the aircraft we have on order we could be anywhere between 15 to 20 per cent in two years, with the A320s, and that helps the Qantas group maintain 65 per cent share," Mr Joyce said.
"There's still a line in the sand."
The comments came after Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon had earlier delivered a blunt assessment of Virgin boss Brett Godfrey's claim that his airline could become Australia's dominant domestic airline player.
"He's dreaming," Mr Dixon told ABC radio.
But Virgin Blue head of strategy David Huttner said the Brisbane-based carrier would continue to grow as it picked up disaffected Qantas customers as well as new passengers. "We're certainly seeing a lot of strong support in the regions where Qantas has downgraded itself to Jetstar," Mr Huttner said.
"In many ways, we see a lot of positive opportunity coming out of this change - and that's true from Rockhampton to Tasmania."
Jetstar launched services yesterday to 13 eastern seaboard destinations using a fleet of 14 125-seat Boeing 717s.
The airline will start adding bigger 177-seat A320 aircraft from July and expects to have an all-Airbus fleet of 23 aircraft within 12 to 18 months.
Jetstar and Virgin will be vying for new business stimulated by lower fares as well as trying to take passengers away from from each other. But this is unlikely to translate into many more of the super-low $29 fares with which Jetstar launched its assault on Virgin.
"Jetstar will be keeping fares, like with the Sydney-to-Melbourne flights, under $100, getting down there at $69," Mr Dixon said.
Mr Joyce estimated Jetstar was starting with about 6 to 7 per cent market share gained from the transfer of the Boeing 717s from Qantaslink. But he conceded Virgin Blue was "a good airline, good competition", which would set prices to avoid losing market share.
"So it's going to be competitive because I think Virgin are going to be after 50 per cent of the growth ... In order for us to keep our share, we're going to have to get 65 per cent of the growth," Mr Joyce said.
Jetstar was scheduled to fly 86 return flights on its first day and a spokesman said on-time performance to 4pm had been good. Passengers on the first flight, JQ371 to Melbourne, turned up at Newcastle airport as early as 3.30am for the historic occasion.
==========================================
Wed "Melbourne Age"
Jetstar breakfast - the cost
http://www.theage.com.au/ffxmedia/2004/05/25/jetstar_menu_2605.gif
===========================================
Wed "Sydney Morning Herald"
http://www.smh.com.au/ffximage/2004/05/25/jetstarlanding,0.jpg
Jetstar's inaugural flight makes a successful landing in Melbourne. Photo: Craig Abraham
No leg room, warm beer - but everyone's happy
By Alexandra Smith and Scott Rochfort
May 26, 2004
There was no elbowing for a plum window spot or complaints from long-legged passengers about the cosy slimline seats.
Qantas's budget offshoot, Jetstar, had a no-frills feel to it - all but one of the 14 Boeing 717s remain white without a hint of the Jetstar brand - but the new airline had a smooth take-off yesterday.
The carrier completed 86 return flights in eastern Australia, to 13 destinations, from Hobart to Cairns. Not all flights were full but passengers, some of whom paid just $29 for a one-way ticket, were impressed.
"I thought it was a great flight and much better than some I fly in the States," said Tom Boghossian, a Los Angeles businessman who was on the 12.25pm Sydney-Gold Coast flight. Mr Boghossian, who visits Australia every year, described Jetstar as "roomy and so, so smooth".
The in-flight service, with sandwiches, snacks and alcohol for sale, was the only hiccup on that flight, according to two grandmothers who took advantage of the cheap fares to visit family. "The beer was warm, I paid $5 for a warm beer," said one of the women.
Jetstar, which does not allocate seating and has less leg room than Virgin Blue, was launched nine months after its parent, Qantas, first floated the idea of a budget arm to cater for Australia's leisure travel market.
Passengers on the first flight, which left Jetstar's Newcastle's maintenance base, landed in Melbourne and were greeted by Qantas executives and the airline's "mascot", comedian Magda Szubanski.
Jetstar expects to fly 800 flights a week by August, which compares with Qantas's 2500 services and Virgin Blue's 1600.
Jetstar plans to phase out its fleet of B717s by mid-2006, when it expects to have 23 A320s in service. Virgin will boost its fleet of Boeing 737s to 49 by next April. In March, Qantas announced plans to buy five new B737s for its domestic operations.
But there are concerns that Australia's aviation market could soon suffer from an over-supply of commercial aircraft.
On Monday, Virgin Blue reported a sharp decline in the proportion of available seats it filled - from 84 to 75 per cent - in the 12 months to April, as its fleet grew from 29 to 44.
On June 1, Jetstar will begin flights from Sydney and Brisbane to Avalon airport, 55 kilometres from Melbourne.
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