Jetstar, with Guangzhou, continues China expansion as Australia and SE Asia take back seat

Jetstar Asia is continuing what it sees as the decade of North Asian expansion with a service to Guangzhou, the third largest airport in China with 1.1 million weekly seats available. By comparison, London Heathrow has 1.7 million weekly seats available. Jetstar sees greater growth prospects in North Asia, which has a LCC penetration rate of under 5% compared to approximately 30% in Southeast Asia.

The Guangzhou route is the latest in a big push by Jetstar into China. It launched service to Ningbo last month and is launching service to Beijing next month. With Guangzhou, Jetstar Asia will have seven destinations in mainland China and 10 in greater China. Two more Chinese cities are expected to be added by the end of this year and many more in subsequent years. "There are many, many cities" in China that Jetstar is prepared to serve, CEO Bruce Buchannan previously remarked.