Jetstar to expand New Zealand operations

Jetstar announced (04-Jun-2010) plans to further expand its New Zealand operations, announcing an additional A320 aircraft to enter service later this year, and actively review value-based long-haul flying. Jetstar presently bases six A320s in New Zealand, evenly split between its domestic operations and multiple daily trans-Tasman services from Christchurch and Auckland. Later this year, Jetstar will base a seventh A320 aircraft in New Zealand with the flexibility to operate on domestic or international routes from its New Zealand ports. In addition, Jetstar is considering the deployment of two-class A330-200 aircraft to support the launch of its first long-haul international services to New Zealand. Its A330-200 fleet of seven aircraft will grow to nine by early 2011, and is configured for 303 passengers including Jetstar's international business-class product, StarClass. CEO, Bruce Buchanan, said the airline planned for the development of a number of new markets with these aircraft and would be progressively unveiling the additional services over the next six weeks. The carrier is considering direct services to Asia and North America and three or four new trans-Tasman routes (NZ Herald, 05-Jun-2010). Mr Buchanan also commented that the carrier would launch services on any routes the Virgin Blue suspends afters its system-wide route network review. [more]

Jetstar: "We'll launch in the next couple of weeks if we're going to do any of those long-haul flights … We're in the final phases of discussions with airports and partners and we're going to make announcements and decisions imminently. If we were going to deploy [A330s] into New Zealand, initially it'd be one aircraft and then we build up the capability and then we'd deploy more, so that's the way that it tends to work … We pull off routes every now and again, every airline does, if you can't make it work you put your growth somewhere else. Whatever they [Virgin Blue Group] do we'll be happy filling whatever void in the market place they leave," Bruce Buchanan, CEO. Source: NZ Herald, 05-Jun-2010.