New Ceo At Jetstar Asia

[B A Lert]

There was much gnashing of teeth in Singapore when news was learned late this week of a new CEO at Jetstar Asia.

The current whizz-kid is returning to Qantas in Sydney, presumably to bigger and better things, only to be replaced by a tired old croney of the Jetstar Asia chairman. I am told that the guy has had a chequered past at TN and QF but no operational experience at all - just in sales with a lot of help from his 'fans'. If the Singapore guys are looking for some dynamic and modern leadership, they have missed out. Unlucky sods.

[Sunfish]

This is to be expected. J* Asia CEO realised that J* Asia is a dead duck (was it ever a live duck?) and has abandoned ship.

New CEO is there to try and breath life into duck and if not, to decently and privately bury it.

Its euphemistically called a "turnaround situation" no self respecting CEO would go into it unless they had their eyes wide open and a good exit plan.

Question is: How much cash has QF pumped in? How much management time has J* Asia consumed? What are QF's liabilities in respect of J* Asia? These may not be limited to the value of the shareholding but by the shareholders agreement signed by all investors.

[Metro Boy]

It said in the paper they have already dropped one route and are going to have too many aircraft soon.

[skywest_xr]

Yes, they dropped Pattaya (UTP) effective 01 MAR.

I was booked on this service and received a call from Jet* Asia 3 days prior to departure to inform me they had dropped the route. They offered me a flight 3 days earlier, unfortunately flying 3 days earlier didn't fit in with my travel plans.

For a country with only 5 million people, I doubt there is any longevity in 5 airlines like they currently have.

SQ, MI, VF, TR, 3K

[Casper]

MI dropped UTP around '92 or '93.

[sport]

Since they started operations they have had to increase the pilot salaries by 2 fold, the problem was trying to keep the pilots who were being offered better deals elsewhere.

And a $47 million deal over 5 years just for the engineering outsourcing seems on the surface a good deal. The way LAME wages are increasing around the world, if they have locked the MRO into this deal then they will be making good money. The only problem will be if the engineers want to also jump ship they won't have money to offer new starters.

With cancelled services and A/c returning to Aus., the end may be close.

[Kaptin M]

Since they started operations they have had to increase the pilot salaries by 2 fold, the problem was trying to keep the pilots who were being offered better deals elsewhere. USD14k per month for A320 drivers, based in Japan.

Yes, the long known about pilot shortage is starting to hit - it's going to be the airlines who HAVE pilots, that will be able to operate services.
Perhaps we should thank the "Era of hostile management" that pilots have had to suffer over the past decade.
These "managers" have successfully managed to beat any sense of company spirit or loyalty out of their staff, by screwing them at every opportunity, whilst generously rewarding and propagating their own, all in the name of "cost saving".
Fair treatment, and allowing staff a few crumbs that don't cost companies ANYTHING (eg. unsold seats) would have saved REAL $$$'s - but foresight was not in their portfolio.

The other "factor" in the failure of JetStar Asia, was the naievete of the QF management wrt setting up shop in Asia - esp. with Singapore Inc!

[Casper]

Quite correct, Kap. Big Dix was sucked in professionally by Sin Inc. SQ to get access to the Pacific in return for a (guaranteed) failed QF exercise in Lyin' City is good darts!

[Sunfish]

Told you so. Its not exactly brain surgery, but its more than Dixon understands.

[Chief Chook]

There seems to be no limit to your boundless wisdom and knowledge, Sunfish :rolleyes:

[MkVIII]

One day Quaintarse will wake up and smell the roses, but until then, it will blindly wandle into unfamiliar territory...

QF / J* seemed to think they actually had a chance against the Singapore Government? It's like the AFAP had a chance against the Australian government in 1989... HA!

Qantas thinks it MUST have a go competing directly against SIA / Silk Air and Tiger simply because SIA is going to be given lucrative Australian rights (and possibly even a third LCC...). The Singapore government let them operate, open arms - I don't think Dixon and Anderson know the "techniques" of the Singapore goverment :p Lure you in, bleed you dry, kick you out. "Bye bye lah, and thanks lah! Ang Moh's!" Bloody clever too! Capitalism in it's purest form.

Another factor that QF obviously does not know or understand is the Singporean demographics, and the loyalty most Singaporeans will show towards a locally owned, or government owned airline. The citizens are EXTREMELY "brand loyal" - partly due to brainwashing indoctrinated into them from the day they are born. Singapore is a free country, but is a very regimental country, and a very market specific country, and the government is a subliminal dictatorship.

MOST, if not all of J*Asia's clientelle are SIA / Silk Air / Tiger / Valuair "cast offs".

Singaporeans also as a rule expect service on an airline, which SQ MORE THAN ADEQUATELY provides even on short sectors, as does Silk Air. I don't think "Wanna tube of Pringles" cuts it with most Singaporean punters!

The budget conscious and the younger will always be the niche market for LCC's in Singapore, but most of the J*Asia routes are just not profitable for 2 airlines to compete on, let alone 5!

J*Asia should just bow out gracefully, before the coupe-de-grace falls from the Singapore government.

[Chocks Away]

Yes, well said Kaptin M :ok:
The rooster is about to signal a new dawn!

[Sunfish]

Chookie, my only problem is that I am too modest.

I've consistently queried the wisdom of J*Asia on the grounds that Asia doesn't want it and so on and that QF is not bringing any skill set that isn't already there in Asia already.

[IORRA]

If it all turns pear-shaped, it's S$50m lost for Qantas. Frankly I don't believe it will, but that's just my opinion. Like every LCC deployed on this part of the world, initial performance will be disappointing - it happened to Virgin, and to JQ Asia. It's a tiny joint venture compared to the others (AAE, StarTrack Express etc), and as such the overall risk of the project is exceedingly low.

Not having a go, Sunfish, but where did you say you did your MBA?

[Sheep Guts]

Dont speak to soon this LCC is 51% owned by 3 Singaporean , one of them a financial Govt owned Multi-National Company worth over 750 billionusd begining with the letter "T". I dont think they intend to see it drop off the planet, just yet.The only thing holding up Jetstar Asia and alike at the moment are the bilateral airline agreements between the SE Asia countries. They have been inplace some since the advent of airline transport, and they are slowly being broken down do to the overwhelming strength of and bouncey local financial markets and economies. If they can get over this barrier, which is affecting all the players, there is a market there, over 30 million pax thru changi last year alone and booming.
Other companies in the race are still growing it will be the battle of the bulge, but if they can all get niche destinations especially into China. They can all survive me thinks.

Jetstar Asia has been the interim rest place for the Jetstar Australias new A320 fleet so it is no surprise to see these machines transit through over time.

Sheep


"SINGAPORE, 02 March 2005
Jetstar Asia to commence daily flights to Bangkok on March 23rd, tickets on sale tomorrow.
Jetstar Asia
Jetstar Asia confirmed today that it would begin services to Bangkok, Thailand with the introduction of two daily flights commencing March 23, 2005.

Jetstar Asia will celebrate the introduction of its Bangkok service with 1,000 free seats and fabulous launch period fares starting from just S$28 each way for bookings made between March 3rd and March 16th, travelling through May 27th.

"Bangkok remains one of the top business and tourist destinations in the region, and is an incredibly popular destination with Singaporeans," said Jetstar Asia's head of marketing, Ms. Dorit Grueber. "From weekend treats to week-long shopping trips, the demand for travel to the Thai capital has continued to rise throughout the past several years and we're confident of being able to help even more people in Singapore experience the delights, adventures and wonderful cultural offerings that Bangkok provides in such abundance," she added.

To accommodate the flights to Bangkok each day, Jetstar Asia has decided to suspend its daily service between Singapore and Pattaya in order to better utilise its existing fleet of aircraft. "We were thrilled to be the first international carrier serving Pattaya and certainly look forward to resuming those services at some point," remarked Greg Thompson, VP Operations. "With a limited number of aircraft available to us, we made the tough decision to redirect our assets towards serving a destination that continues to see growth in demand, and we look forward to continue flying to Thailand, but now via daily flights to Bangkok."

The free seats are available only for bookings made via the website and will be offered on a first-come first-served basis. Bookings in general can be made via the Jetstar Asia website at www.jetstarasia.com; the call centre at 6822 2288 or by contacting Jetabout Holidays and Chan Brothers Travel."

from the Jetstar site.
it aint dead yet!

[Sunfish]

IORRA, Melb Uni.

[Casper]

"We were thrilled to be the first international carrier serving Pattaya and certainly look forward to resuming those services at some point," remarked Greg Thompson, VP Operations.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
As advised previously, "international carrier" MI operated services between SIN and UTP, terminating them around '93 - '94.

[sport]

How naive do they think we are?

J*Asia already has one a/c on the fence and another two arriving very soon, so what is the real reason for pulling out of Pattaya.

[sport]

You are partly correct, yes the one that was against the fence has recently left to return to Aus but another two are only weeks away from arriving in Singapore, and there aren't anymore scheduled to leave for Aus. thats not to say they won't all be leaving soon.
If Bangkok is not successful then the rumour is shut the doors and go home.

Last man out turn off the lights.

[Zigzag]

Oh yes there is.

Two in total (A320's) are being transferred back to Jetstar Aus from Jetstar Asia. I believe one (VQX) may have already made the trip.........

[QFinsider]

Have said it before you can polish this thing all you like but ultimately it's still a tu@d:E

love to see the cash flow:E

[404 Titan]

The biggest mistake most of these low cost carriers out of Singapore have made is to compete with the likes of SQ and CX on the main trunk routes between the major hubs. Both these carriers and others like Thai and Malaysian etc offer at least business class, have full service in economy and have very extensive cargo operations. There are no laws in Asia to prevent capacity dumping or predatory pricing and that is exactly what the majors have been doing. They can do this comfortably because the average yields are higher, supported by the fact most aren’t on really cheap tickets, they still have a premium class and the cargo they are carrying in the belly. Low cost carriers have none of this and will, in my opinion ultimately pay the price.

[sport]

Two in total (A320's) are being transferred back to Jetstar Aus from Jetstar Asia. I believe one (VQX) may have already made the trip.........

That's right so whats your point there are still two new a/c going to arrive by the end of the month, and they will still have one up against the fence.

I think the decision to drop Pattaya is probably due to only having approx. 25 pax. per flight, if they were lucky, and even cancelling every second day to get that.

The writing is on the wall.

[sport]

He obviously knows more than the taxi driver I get my info from.

[sport]

Hey Miriam, I think my taxi driver has proven to be a better resource than your refueller.

http://www.pprune.org/forums/showthread.php?threadid=167352