Virgin and Jetstar battle over $156m worth of Bali flights

Sydney, Australia - May 11, 2019: Virgin Australia plane with Jetstar plane on the back at Sydney Airport tarmac.

Qantas Group and Virgin Australia are in the midst of a battle for additional capacity to Bali worth approximately $156m in total annual revenue.

The hotly-contested 2464 seats per week are currently eyed by Qantas’ low-cost subsidiary Jetstar, which claims it will offer “significantly lower” airfares than Virgin. The low-cost carrier claims its fares are between 14-68 per cent cheaper than other carriers, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Qantas made its pitch to the International Air Services Commission in November with plans for Jetstar to operate a Cairns-Melbourne-Denpasar service from May and an Adelaide-Perth-Denpasar service from the beginning of August.

Virgin followed with its claim, looking to also offer seats on an Adelaide-Perth-Denpasar route and on a Gold Coast-Perth-Denpasar route. Virgin said the flights would also help the carrier compete with Jetstar, which already operates three services a day.

Virgin Australia plane in Bali (Reuters)

Virgin also suggested in its submission that it “supported local consumers and employment to a significantly greater extent than the Qantas Group”.

“Virgin Australia staffs its flights exclusively with crews based in Australia, whereas we understand that Jetstar relies heavily on cabin crews based in Thailand, Indonesia, Singapore, and New Zealand for its international flights, and Qantas relies on crews based in Singapore, New Zealand, the UK and Finland,” Virgin’s general manager of government relations and industry affairs Todd Reynolds wrote.

Qantas’ executive manager of government, industry and competition, Anna Pritchard, said Jetstar’s edge was its competitive airfares, making it a preferred choice for Aussie travellers.

“During the forward looking 180-day period analysed by Infare commencing December 31, 2023, Jetstar’s average fares are 37 per cent and 32 per cent lower than Virgin Australia’s Melbourne-Denpasar and Adelaide-Denpasar services,” Pritchard said.

The competition between the carriers comes after a tumultuous 2023 in aviation with the airlines at odds over the Australian government’s decision to block additional capacity for Qatar Airways, which has a codeshare with Virgin. Meanwhile, Qantas has a codeshare with Qatar’s Middle Eastern competitor Emirates, amplifying the drama.

(Featured Image: Virgin Australia and Jetstar planes – iStock/ai_yoshi)

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Anna Pritchard bali jetstar qantas virgin australia