Home » News » Jetstar set to reach new destinations at low costs with new A321 Neo fleet

1 March, 2023

Jetstar set to reach new destinations at low costs with new A321 Neo fleet

Jetstar will receive a brand new Airbus A321 NEO aircraft every six weeks until the end of 2024, enabling them to reach new destinations that were previously a bridge to far for the low cost carrier.

Travel Weekly was invited to board a special flight in the carriers history on 28 February, the shortest Jetstar flight ever (a total of 7 minutes in the air) from Melbourne’s Tullamarine to Avalon Airport to visit the Avalon air show and attend a roundtable hosted by Jetstar and Airbus officials.

Boarding the brand new A321NEO LR (long range) for it’s first flight, the comfort was a stand out, far more roomy than other models, which can be attributed to the new ‘slim seat’ profile that drastically improves the amount of leg room for guests.

The seat profile on the new Airbus A321 Neo.

Other key details on the new Airbus model to improve the flyer experience is a 40 per cent increase in the size of overhead lockers, meaning small suitcase style carry on luggage can be stored on its side, rather than flat. Also, smartphone stands have been added as an extra section of the tray table.

The NEO model from Airbus is the new standard in single aisle aircraft and will become Jetstar’s flagship model in the coming months and years, allowing the airline to access new destinations thanks to the extra 1200km of range provided through an extra fuel tank and the planes 18 per cent improvement in fuel efficiency.

Chief operating officer, Jetstar, Matt Franzi, said the fleet opens a range of new possibilities.

“In terms of the market, it’s currently on Indonesia from Melbourne,” he said.

“The other markets it can do is potentially from the west coast to other parts of South East Asia. It would have the range, for example, to do Thailand.

“From the middle of the year we will be doing Sydney to Rarotonga – so the Cook Islands with the LR which again gives us better payload from there.

“In terms of the longer term, long haul operations – the XLR (extra long range) is the vehicle of choice for that. It gives you an extra couple of hours in terms of range, so that’s where we could be looking at places like Queensland to North Asia or extending further into South-East Asia.”

The increased fuel efficiency and number of seats on board means that Jetstar will be able to offer low cost flights to a range of new locations, perfect for Aussies looking to holiday to Asian nations.

Jetstar will also utilise the new models on their Avalon to Sydney route (and vice versa), opening up 600,000 new seats to guests.

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A321 Neo airbus jetstar Matt Franzi