Qantas is joining the growing ranks of net-work airlines that own and operate low-cost airlines with the launch of JetStar.
The carrier starts modestly, using rebranded and reconfigured Boeing 717s that Qantas already operates under its QantasLink name. But JetStar will start taking on its own character over the next year as it replaces all its 717s with 23 Airbus A320s.
Qantas is looking to JetStar to stem Virgin Blue's growth and convert marginal Qantas routes into profitable ones. JetStar will take more market share away from Qantas than Virgin Blue, but it hopes to hold Virgin near its current one-third domestic market share.
Unions generally accept the lower labour rates JetStar is offering, but flight engineers protest that JetStar plans to allow pilots rather than engineers to make pre-flight visual aircraft inspections.
Some communities also object to Qantas turning routes over to JetStar. Launceston and the Gold Coast complain that Qantas is "downgrading" their cities by replacing business-class flights with JetStar's single-class, no-frills service. In Launceston, Qantas relented after civic leaders raised a number of specific complaints, but it still plans to drop business class on some Gold Coast routes. Gold Coast newspapers accuse Qantas of treating the town "like a no-frills Hicksville".
Source: Airline Business
