Better times ahead in Asia, says Jetstar

Better times ahead in Asia, says Jetstar
By admin


Jetstar boss Jayne Hrdlicka is confident in the future of the airline's Asian operations, despite a disappointing 12 months for the low cost carrier in the region.

The airline made an underlying loss of $116 million in the 2013/14 financial year, chiefly due to high fuel costs and cut throat competition, especially in south east Asia.

That contributed to an underlying loss of $646 million for its parent, Qantas, which has also been hurt by tough competition, both internationally and from its domestic rival Virgin Australia.

But Ms Hrdlicka says competition has eased off, with carriers in Asia adding fewer additional services than in the recent past.

"It's been a fiercely competitive couple of years for the aviation industry, particularly in Australia and much of South East Asia," she said.

"That's tempered now … capacity is normalising with underlying demand. It'll take a few years for all markets to grow into the capacity that's there but the outlook is now really encouraging."

Jetstar has an increasingly international focus, with more than half its fleet now flying in and out of Australia.

It has focused most heavily on Asia, launching subsidiaries in Singapore and Japan and – so far unsuccessfully – attempting to get a foothold in Hong Kong as it looks to take advantage of the region's growing middle class.

Meanwhile, Ms Hrdlicka said the launch of the much-hyped Boeing 787 Dreamliner on international routes had been a boon for the airline.

She said the Dreamliner was cheaper to run and faster than other aircraft, and popular with passengers.

"It really is game changing, it has changed the face of aviation for us in a dramatic way because the economics are so much better, and coupled with that, it's got a much better environment inside the aircraft for every one of our customers," she said.

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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