Wedcue
9th Sep 2012, 05:00
''There are opportunities for Jetstar to leverage some of the assets Qantas has, both in intellectual property as well as in benefits of scale,'' Hrdlicka says. ''Government and corporate affairs is one place where we should be joined up in navigating industrial relations … and government and policies.
''But for the most part, the businesses are incredibly separate businesses. We would be crazy to throw the secret sauce out. We have created the right balance in differentiation, focus and independence, and we have to retain that.''
Jetstar's expansion in Asia via joint ventures in Singapore, Vietnam, Japan and soon Hong Kong are a key part of the airline group's long-term strategy.
It has been far from an easy ride. More than seven years after it first began services from its Singapore base, Jetstar Asia made a profit of just $2 million in 2011-12, according to broker estimates.
For those working at Jetstar Pacific in Vietnam, the memories of the secret police barring two Australian executives from leaving the country for six months are raw.
In Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific has indicated it will a thorn in the side of Jetstar as it sets up a budget offshoot on its home turf as part of a joint venture with China Eastern.
Hrdlicka, who also sits on the board of Woolworths, concedes that she faces a ''big job'' over the next 12 to 18 months in bedding down the joint venture operations in Japan and Hong Kong.
Jetstar chief charts steady course | smh.com.au (http://m.smh.com.au/business/jetstar-chief-charts-steady-course-20120907-25kcj.html)
''But for the most part, the businesses are incredibly separate businesses. We would be crazy to throw the secret sauce out. We have created the right balance in differentiation, focus and independence, and we have to retain that.''
Jetstar's expansion in Asia via joint ventures in Singapore, Vietnam, Japan and soon Hong Kong are a key part of the airline group's long-term strategy.
It has been far from an easy ride. More than seven years after it first began services from its Singapore base, Jetstar Asia made a profit of just $2 million in 2011-12, according to broker estimates.
For those working at Jetstar Pacific in Vietnam, the memories of the secret police barring two Australian executives from leaving the country for six months are raw.
In Hong Kong, Cathay Pacific has indicated it will a thorn in the side of Jetstar as it sets up a budget offshoot on its home turf as part of a joint venture with China Eastern.
Hrdlicka, who also sits on the board of Woolworths, concedes that she faces a ''big job'' over the next 12 to 18 months in bedding down the joint venture operations in Japan and Hong Kong.
Jetstar chief charts steady course | smh.com.au (http://m.smh.com.au/business/jetstar-chief-charts-steady-course-20120907-25kcj.html)