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Wirraway
1st Oct 2004, 15:19
Sat "Sydney Morning Herald"

Jetstar delays flights to west
By Scott Rochfort
October 2, 2004

Qantas budget offshoot Jetstar has held off its long-awaited arrival in Adelaide and Perth until March next year at the earliest, preferring instead to ramp up its existing east coast network.

The airline announced on Friday it would build up its existing 800 weekly services to 940 by January 5 when it takes delivery of its sixth 177-seat Airbus 320.

Jetstar's new flights from Sydney will include services to the Whitsundays three times a week, an additional two daily flights to the Gold Coast and an additional daily flight to the Sunshine Coast.

Jetstar has a fleet of 14 Boeing 717s and three A320s. By mid-2006, it plans to have 23 A320s.

But with Jetstar loaning two of its yet-to-be-delivered jets to its Singapore-based sister airline, Jetstar Asia, from December, the airline denied it was winding back its domestic expansion plans.

The two A320s will not be returned to Jetstar until March.

Jetstar's head of corporate relations, Simon Westaway, said the airline chose to consolidate its existing network and to build on services which have proven to be successful. "We're putting the aircraft where the demand currently is," he said.

Such as Sydney to the Gold Coast, which recently overtook Melbourne-Adelaide as the fourth-busiest air route in Australia. According to recent Bureau of Transport Economics statistics, passengers on the Sydney-Gold Coast route grew by 40.8 per cent in the year to July, while the main Sydney-Melbourne route grew by 11.7 per cent.

Mr Westaway also cited Newcastle as one of Jetstar's successes. With the Melbourne-Newcastle route already reporting a 340 per cent lift in passenger traffic in the year to July 31, Jetstar plans to add an additional daily service to its two daily return services from late October.

=========================================
Sat "Weekend Australian"

Jetstar ups the ante in fare wars
Geoffrey Thomas
October 02, 2004

JETSTAR has launched a fare war as it ramps up its flight schedule over Christmas with 100 additional flights a week plus a new destination as more Airbus A320s are delivered.

The airline announced yesterday conditional internet $49 one-way fares over a range of routes including Sydney-Launceston, Melbourne-Hobart and Newcastle-Melbourne or Brisbane. Other one-way conditional internet fare levels include $79 for Sydney-Rockhampton, $89 Sydney-Whitsunday Coast and $119 Sydney-Hamilton Island.

The fares are available for travel between October 23 and December 16, 2004, and January 11 to February 28, 2005, and are on sale until midnight on October 6, 2004, unless sold out.

A Virgin Blue spokesperson said late yesterday the airline would match the Jetstar fares. Those fares will help fill the 100 additional flights a week that Jetstar announced yesterday.

The current schedule of 116 daily services to 14 destinations is operated by 14 Boeing 717s and three A320s, and the airline will receive another A320 in December and two more in early January.

From December 1, the airline will start a three-times weekly Sydney-Proserpine service.

Newcastle's daily flights to Melbourne and Brisbane will be doubled, while the double daily Hobart-Sydney flight will become three times daily.

Reflecting the desire to go north, the Sydney-Gold Coast service gets an additional two flights a day to nine times daily.

Record high fuel prices have kept the fares above the $29 level offered when Jetstar launched its flights earlier this year.

Jetstar chief executive officer Alan Joyce said yesterday that "the additional weekly flights represented a 16 per cent boost to flight schedules up to 940 weekly flights".

"Jetstar will move to an all-A320 fleet by mid-2006, which will number 23 aircraft and our A320 program remains on track."

Next June the airline will start phasing out its Boeing 717s as A320s are delivered.

Big winners in Jetstar's rise have been residents near Newcastle and Avalon airports.

And Jetstar is looking westwards. According to insiders at the airline Jetstar will start services to both Adelaide and Perth in 2005, and is expected to launch Perth-Broome flights by late 2005.

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Buster Hyman
2nd Oct 2004, 01:07
So, does anyone know if the Jet* A320's will need additional "approvals" to operate SYD-PER? Or, do these newer A320's have a better range than the AN A320's with the CFM donks? Just wondering, as there seems to be a lack of a "Abeles-Hawke" buddy system....maybe it's a "Dixon-Anderson" one?:confused:

HOBAY 3
2nd Oct 2004, 07:36
Buster, won't need any approvals if they operate the 332 on SY-PH, will they?!? :ok:

Eastwest Loco
2nd Oct 2004, 12:12
Has anyone considered that the real reason for the lack of expansion being the fact that the SLF is seeking airlines that treat them like humans beings?

I for one think so. Ninety percent of the passengers I have booked on JQ have come back and said "never again".

I also add that it has not been due to onboard service and cabin crew attitude - just the steerage class treatment on the ground and the debilitating seat pitch combined with the single sector philosiphy.

Eurocrap and this market do not and never will mix.

EWL

commander adama
2nd Oct 2004, 20:40
EWL

That may be the case. Memories fade quick and we are talking about Australian people here. Christ everynody winges it's in our Anglo Saxon heritage. Seat pitch VERSUS Price. Price will always win in the end.

Eastwest Loco
3rd Oct 2004, 05:46
I am at the front line in this debate dealing with several huge corporates,as well as mums and dad. In 40% of the cases, price is the driving force - in the other 60% seatpitch and non cattle class treatment and lounges drive the purchase.

Convenience sells, and even DJ do well as they allocate.

I will never point a passenger in a direction they do not wish to go. I just advise the costs and let the pax pick his poison.

Price is a big factor - as I said - for the ex Firefly bus passengers who can now fly, but the core is the regulards who loved their Australian, Ansett, East West treatment and fares.

Getting a blind spot over the market that was there is a big mistake. A bigger mistake even than running Jetscar into Hammo. One of Australia's finest 5+ star resorts in now served by a one star airline. Hello? People are either ditching Hayman as a destination or going up and over TSV or CNS to avoid cattle class.

Make no mistake - the SLF may be a lot of things. Totally stupid is not one of them, and I am pleased to say they are voting with their feet. DJ is good middle ground for many on short/medium haul. QF mainline is still very popular. We areon fee for service with JQ and will be from 01JUL05 with QF. JQ is paying 5% plus plus, and that suits me fine.

Bottom line is JQ is alienating passengers after 1 flight.

Small market.

I give it 12 months from now before the rollback.

EWL

flyingins
3rd Oct 2004, 21:59
East West was a great airline, EWL and we all miss it. Just as we miss the days when Ansett and TAA ruled the skies and Qantas was an all-747 airline.

The danger in constantly using the past as a yardstick for what works today, however, is that there is usually a very good reason (or reasons) why the things we miss are no longer here.

Your experience with Jetstar may have been negative to date but you would do well to remember a few things:

1) Virgin Blue was routinely lambasted on this very website (and elsewhere) during its first year or two of operations as being solely responsible for ruining the standards of the Australian airline scene. EVERYONE had a bad DJ story to tell.

2) Rumours surrounding Virgin's financial situation (having to pay for their fuel with cash, being days away from bankruptcy, lowering safety standards - pilot walkarounds/ETOPS etc etc etc) have been a constant on pprune as well, but never more than when they were new to the market.

3) Jetstar has had teething problems, which have in no way been helped by an amazingly over-imaginative media AND the "let me tell you how it SHOULD be done" comments of those without the full picture.

4) Most importantly, by being the harbinger of doom and supposing the "rollback" of Jetstar, you are endorsing the necessary evils of such a move - MOST NOTABLY REDUNDANCIES AND JOB LOSSES.

We've all been there and done that (me included) and we know how horrible it can be. STOP ENCOURAGING IT!

You may say that your opinion can't influence the outcome of a business venture and you're probably right - but if you're as involved in the game as you make out, well perhaps you could use the power at your disposal to help Jetstar work instead of harping on about its demise (and the demise, once again, of the careers of many many people).

Why? Because Jetstar and businesses like it are the way of the future. Either accept that, EWL, and move on in life, or risk wasting the rest of it living in an era which alas, will never be again.

Jetstar is NOT East West, it is NOT Ansett, it is NOT TAA or Australian but, without being cruel, neither are they anymore.

commander adama
3rd Oct 2004, 23:18
flyingins

Excellent post

EWL you obviously have a business that is being threatened. El Cheapo is the way of the future. Accept it. Why? I ask again why are people using travel agents? It's the left over remnance of the old school era. e.g. my grandmother and auntie and inefficient little and big business. The travel agent is going to be history within 10 years for most unfortunately. EWL you honestly think many remember East West. Ansett yes, even TAA yes, EWL? Man you are deluded and are living in a dream world.

I will spot you for 12 months time for the survival of J*and bet on your business survival in 10 years. No hang on I will make that 5.

:ok:

Capt_Zoolander
4th Oct 2004, 08:48
EWL said,

"Bottom line is JQ is alienating passengers after 1 flight"

"Small market"

"I give it 12 months from now before the rollback"


EWL, it has been alleged that, If big brother Qantas was not holding the Purse strings, Jet* would have been dead and buried, weeks after the launch.

Just think about how many potential new start up's, never get the chance because of the monopoly that the big boys have?

Is this fair competition?

:cool: :cool: :cool:

Eastwest Loco
4th Oct 2004, 09:19
adama and flyingins

You are right in one way. Around 25% of semi-viable Agencies will go West in the first 6 - 12 months. These agencies would have gone West anyway eventually.

It all depends on business mix. Thankfully we are mostly Corporate and mainland corporate at that.

The convenience of a corporate being able to have an Agent compare fares for them saves them money and staff time, and we do the accommodation and car rental much quicker than they can.

We have fares exclusive to particular organisations and companies that are far less than marketplace fares, and negotiated hotel rates with various chains at a great deal less than even the specials available.

Out of interest, most international fares sold even today are marked up nett remit fares, where the fare on the ticket may be $4000.00 but $900.00 is the charge to the agent. This is then marked up by a given percentage - we do 9% which is fairly industry standard. This is not changing. QF Corporate is doing the same.

No - we are not bulletproof as nobody is in this industry, but are set up as well as possible to avoid problems.

NZ moved to zero commission some time ago now, as did the US, and the agencies there (after an initial fallout of very small and already marginal operations) are thriving in general.

We have already introduced fee for service for alteration of bookings, which has met with zero resistance and is dealing with after sales time spent reissuing and transmitting new E tickets. At $10.00 over and above the change fee, people are happy to pay for someone to take ownership of their travel arrangements.

Incidentally, Qantas DJ and JQ call centres are doing exactly the same. I would be seriously looking at selling any Flight Centre shares you may have. Anecdotal evidence is that they are the ones running scared, as they are losing the income stream they use to cut $5.00 off another agent's quote. Come 01 JUL 05, they will be right back to the field, and not before time. That will do the rest of us no end of good.

As for being a harbinger of doom, aren't you doing exactly the same thing?

I am well aware of jobs and people's futures being at stake, and wish NONE of them any ill will whatsoever. Having been made redundant 3 times in my airline career, I feel that I can comment on the fallout of such events fairly accurately.

Sticking one's head in the sand and not looking to improve things so a product in more marketable shows that marketing is not your strong point. Horses for courses though, as I would be unable to meet the rigourous standards required to take command of a commercial aeroplane. I am bleeding good at filling them though.

As for East West, the number of people who single out the fibreglass model of EWA in my display of over 50 airliners puts that comment to bed.

JQ will indeed survive - IF they take note of the things the punters do not like - ie: single sector attitude - no allocation - 30 minute cutout - baggage recheck.

Just because you accept the euro masterplan doesn't mean that the general public will embrace it.

Best regards

EWL

Thanks Zoolander

Would I be right in saying that cross subsidisation is still illegal?

I believe TN used that as a lever to shut down the F27 routes to ABX NTL DPO and WNY as well as Central Queensland years ago.

I bet the ACCC would be interested to looking into the funding structure.

It is indeed a very good point you raise.

Best

EWL