Jetstar bullish on growth in Asian tourism

JETSTAR International expects opportunities in outbound Australian tourism and continued growth in Singapore and New Zealand in the new year.With eight Airbus A330 aircraft already operating on long-haul routes and three more on the way, Jetstar Australia-New Zealand chief executive David Hall said demand for the two-class service was strong last month.The airline launched direct services between Melbourne and Singapore in that time.

Jetstar boasts its branded airlines are now the biggest low-cost operation at Changi airport, and Melbourne-Singapore is seen as a growth route, with passenger numbers rising about 9 per cent in the year ended September compared with 4 per cent on Sydney-Singapore.Mr Hall predicted A330 services to and from the Asian hub would continue to experience strong growth as Jetstar added direct Auckland-Singapore services in March.



Outbound tourism from Australia and New Zealand to Singapore itself, as well as the 22 destinations serviced from the city state by Jetstar Asia, was a "tremendous proposition", he said.But he could also see Singaporeans and other Asian passengers funnelling into Australia and New Zealand with the possibility of services being triangulated across the region."You could see a Auckland-Melbourne-Singapore, Singapore-Auckland-Melbourne-type proposition," he said.

The airline has yet to announce where it will put its two unallocated A330s, due to arrive this year. Mr Hall said a decision on where they would go would depend on demand.The decision to base two A330s in Singapore caused concern among many Australian Jetstar pilots amid claims by the Australian and International Pilots Association that the move was an attempt to undermine wages and conditions.A Jetstar pilot was sacked after publishing an opinion piece critical of the airline's pan-Asian strategy, but has since been re-employed by it.

Mr Hall said the onus was on the airline to ensure good dialogue with its pilots, and it had experienced no trouble crewing the Singapore-based planes.He dismissed union claims that Singapore-based pilots were financially disadvantaged compared with their Australian counterparts. A lower tax base in Singapore meant a captain's take-home pay was "pretty comparable" with that in Australia.

But he expected continued debate on the issue."I think there'll be noise -- I think it will be politically motivated -- but I think the opportunity for growth throughout the region will be very strong," he said."We're building good engagement, strong dialogue and this is about market relevance."

The Jetstar boss also predicted strong growth for the airline across the Tasman and in New Zealand, despite decisions that gave the green light to an alliance between Virgin Blue and Air New Zealand.Jetstar had increased capacity across the Tasman by about 20 per cent and expected to command about a fifth of the New Zealand market by the end of this quarter as it added an eighth locally based plane, he said."We're confident of our position and we think the two-brand strategy is working very well," he said. "We will compete aggressively in those markets and there's good demand and good familiarity with the Jetstar brand."

Source = theaustralian