Carrier to be based in Singapore and serve Asian cities within 5h flight time using Airbus A320s or Boeing 737-800s
Qantas has fully embraced the low-cost airline model, announcing plans to invest S$50 million ($30 million) in a low-cost start-up based in Singapore.
Qantas will hold 49.9% of the new airline, dubbed JetStar Asia, with Singapore businessman Tony Chew owning 21.1% and FF Wong, former managing director of Myan-mar Airways International, holding 10%. Singapore government investment company Temasek Holdings will own the remaining 19%. Temasek already has a stake in Singapore Airlines and its low-cost start-up Tiger Airways. The partners will invest S$100 million in the carrier, which will compete in the increasingly crowded South-East Asian low-cost market. "This is a modest investment for Qantas but it is an excellent opportunity to participate in the growing intra-Asia travel market," says Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon.
JetStar Asia will launch services before the end of this year with four Airbus A320s or Boeing 737-800s to Asian cities within 5h of Singapore. Destinations being considered include China, Myanmar and Vietnam. It will provide Qantas with access to one of the world's largest travel markets, of more than 3 billion people, and the Singapore hub. The airline plans to grow to a fleet of more than 20 aircraft over three years. The airline has yet to secure an air operator's certificate from the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore or traffic rights.
A Qantas team, headed by senior executive Con Korfiatis - who is being tipped as a chief executive candidate for the new airline - has been working on the project for the past nine months, says Dixon.
The launch of JetStar Asia comes as Qantas prepares for the start of services of its domestic low-cost operator, JetStar, next month.
EMMA KELLY / PERTH
Source: Flight International
