Another low cost carrier plans to fly to Australia
Scott Rochfort in today’s Sydney Morning Herald says that Jestar is about to face its first challenge on the long-haul “low-cost” airline market between Asia and Australia, after the Chinese budget carrier Viva Macau confirmed plans to fly to Sydney by late July.
The airline, which is based in Macau, plans to launch three weekly services to Sydney once it takes delivery of its third Boeing 767 next month.
“The dates are not confirmed yet but definitely July,” a Viva Macau spokeswoman told the Herald.
Based on the ticket prices Viva already offers, it is expected the airline could easily undercut the fares offered by Jetstar into Asia.
On its website yesterday Viva was offering return flights from Macau to Jakarta for as low as $138 (including taxes) and the Maldives for $370. Last year the airline’s chief executive, Andrew Pyne, predicted Viva would undercut existing fares on the Sydney to Hong Kong route by at least 20 per cent.
Viva’s chief operating officer, Con Korfiatis, is understood to have visited Sydney last week to make the final arrangements for the airline’s arrival.
Mr Korfiatis is no stranger to Jetstar. The former Qantas executive was the first acting chief executive in the struggling 44.5 per cent Qantas-owned Singapore budget carrier Jetstar Asia.
Viva also plans to launch services to Seoul and Osaka within the next two months, before launching services into Europe by the end of the year. The airline, which commenced services last December, plans to expand its fleet to five 767s by the end of the year. Like Jetstar International, it has two classes and economy passengers have to pay for meals.
Aside from banking on the growing demand for travel to the booming gambling mecca of Macau, Viva also plans to exploit the oversupply of hotel rooms in the former Portuguese enclave.
The airline is looking to offer Australian passengers en route to Europe a cheap hotel room in transit. It is rumoured Viva is looking at European destinations such as Moscow and Milan.
Viva’s planned arrival comes after AirAsia announced plans to fly to Australia with its new long-haul budget carrier within the next year. But this could be delayed due to a lack of available aircraft.
The Hong Kong long-haul low-cost carrier Oasis is yet to indicate whether it plans to fly to Australia. The airline has so far singled out North America and Europe, but with plans to expand its fleet to 25 Boeing 747s by 2010 it could eventually include Australia in its growth plans.
Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
Phocuswright reveals the world's largest travel markets in volume in 2025
Higher departure tax and visa cost, e-arrival card: Japan unleashes the fiscal weapon against tourists
Cyclone in Sri Lanka had limited effect on tourism in contrary to media reports
Singapore to forbid entry to undesirable travelers with new no-boarding directive
Euromonitor International unveils world’s top 100 city destinations for 2025