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Published on January 21, 2008

The Australian airline will become the second largest low-cost operator in the region based on fleet size.

First will be AirAsia, which is expanding its fleet from 63 last year to 136 in 2016 with options for 50 aircraft. Following them will be Lion Air, moving up from 43 to 122 aircraft with no options.

Bruce Buchanan, Jetstar's group general manager for commercial affairs, said Jetstar, which is based in Australia, and Jetstar Asia, which flies out of Singapore, would spread their wings to all potential markets in Asia, including Thailand.

It is also preparing to service long-haul routes to Western countries, particularly on the European continent, with one Asean country acting as a stopover station.

"The air-travel industry in Asia will be growing, so the group wants to tap the growth," Buchanan said.

The group plans to open a route into Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai in the North and is negotiating with a local carrier to help it expand its network here.

The group runs Bangkok-Melbourne and Phuket-Sydney flights on behalf of Jetstar, and Bangkok-Singapore and Phuket-Singapore flights for Jetstar Asia.

Jetstar is promoting the Thailand-Australia connection by offering special fares. A one-way, economy-class seat on Bangkok-Melbourne flights can be had for Bt4,800, exclusive of surcharges, fees and taxes of Bt3,953. The offer is good until January 28 for travel originating from Bangkok between April 30 and June 19.

Since July 2003, developing the business case, launching the brand, expanding domestic operations and introducing short- and long-haul international operations has propelled the revenue performance of the Qantas Group carrier to 112 million Australian dollars (Bt3 billion) in the 2006/07 financial year.

Suchat Sritama

The Nation