Jetstar attacks Tiger with new Asia route
A Report in The Australian says that Jetstar has kicked off its short-haul Asian strategy with a daily Melbourne-Darwin-Singapore route aimed squarely at Tiger Airways.
The airline will take on Tiger from April 17, with aggressive introductory pricing from Singapore starting at $6.40) one-way to Darwin and $71 one-way to Melbourne.
Pricing from Australia will be less cutthroat, with launch fares from Melbourne to Singapore of $249 one-way and $199 from Darwin.
The move is the first step in a plan that could see the airline offer flights to Asia using its single-aisle Airbus A320 and A321 aircraft through hubs in Perth and Darwin.
It adds 250,000 new seats a year on the route and allows the airline to offer double daily A320 services between Melbourne and Darwin, including a daylight flight.
It also complements an existing daily Cairns-Darwin-Singapore service now operated by Jetstar Asia, but due to be transferred to the Australian carrier next month.
The move is a continuation of a strong growth profile that will see the airline reach 100 aircraft and 30 million passengers by the middle of next decade.
Jetstar spokesman Simon Westaway said the new route was a step towards the establishment of a growing hub in Darwin that could service Asia.
Mr Westaway said Jetstar had entered into a “competitive arrangement” with Darwin Airport that allowed it to offer good fares on the route.
“We are in ongoing dialogue with Northern Territory Airports and the Northern Territory Government about how we can bring the dream of a major hub out of Darwin … to a reality,” he said.
“This is a step down the road towards that, but in terms of a full-blown hub, we’ve still got to continue to consult so that we can come up with the right infrastructure and other arrangements that can support significant growth in services.”
Jetstar plans to offer everyday internet fares between Melbourne and Singapore of $349, and $209 between Darwin and Singapore.
Northern Territory Airports chief executive Ian Kew said the airport was working with Jetstar to determine its requirements.
“We will continue to work closely with them with the aim of having based aircraft at Darwin in the near future,” he said.
Mr Kew said the new service would allow Darwin to tap into markets that would otherwise have overflown the Top End.
The announcement comes as Darwin experienced record passenger numbers in December, bolstered by additional flying on the Melbourne-Darwin sector by Tiger and Jetstar.
“Passengers on this sector grew 175 per cent on capacity growth of 179 per cent,” Mr Kew said.
“This demonstrates pent-up demand on a sector that was historically under-served.”
Tourism lobby group TTF Australia said the new service was a win-win for the Northern Territory, boosting visitor numbers from the boom markets of Asia as well as from the east coast of Australia.
A Report by The Mole
John Alwyn-Jones
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