United Kingdom
United States
Asia Pacific
Jetstar happy with NZ start but Ozjet struggling
Jetstar plans to retain a single hub in New Zealand for now and may expand its trans-Tasman services by adding new flights to more Australian destinations, its chief executive said.
Chief executive Alan Joyce said the airline’s performance in the highly competitive market would be assessed after six months.
Mr Joyce said expanding services to other Australian cities already serviced by Jetstar’s domestic flights would be a cheaper option than other New Zealand cities because of establishment costs.
“Once you have that, the incrementals are a lot less in terms of costs,” he said.
“So there’s an incentive for us to join up the dots.”
He also curiously commented on the launch of Business class start up OzJet. While admitting that Paul Stoddart was obviously a good businessman who would have done his homework, he believed that the airline would struggle against Qantas.
“I think OzJet has got its work cut out … because Qantas is very competitive there,” he said.
He said Qantas offered an excellent product for the business community through its established network, frequency of flights, lounge access and frequent flier points.
“It just means it’s going to be very competitive at the business end as well for a while,” he said.
Just how competitive OzJet is already starting to find out. The airline’s founder, Paul Stoddart, conceded it had cancelled two of its eight return flights yesterday.
“There is no point flying flights during the day with a couple of people on them,” Mr Stoddart told the SMH. “The two flights were in the early and mid-afternoon, a time normally quiet for business traffic.
“We just rang the people up and said, ‘Would you like to go on an early or late flight?’ There was no hassle in it.”
Maybe not, but the airline has already been forced to alter its pricing strategy cutting the price of its standard one-way fares from $305 to $249 from next week until January 31.
Graham Muldoon
Mark Jaronski of Explore Georgia on FIFA World Cup 2026
Connecting Small Businesses to Global Tourism Markets: Nate Huff of Tourism Exchange
North Carolina’s Resilience: Wit Tuttell on Recovery and Tourism
Kittipong Prapattong’s Plan for Thailand’s Tourism Growth: Taxes, Visas, and Campaigns
James Jin: Didatravel’s Journey from China to Global Reach and the Impact of AI on Travel
Darien Schaefer on Pensacola’s Evolution: From Small Town to Global Destination
Florida Tourism’s Next Frontier: Dana Young on Expanding Beyond the Classics
Patrick Harrison on Tampa Bay Tourism’s Resilience and Marketing Strategy
Bubba O’Keefe on Clarksdale’s Vibrant Music Scene
Commemorating Elvis and Embracing Tupelo’s Culture with Jennie Bradford Curlee
Craig Ray and the Expansion of the Blues Trail
Presenting Mississippi’s Cultural Trails with Katie Coats
BA suspending all Heathrow to Abu Dhabi flights
Turkish Airlines flight in emergency landing after pilot dies
Unexpected wave rocks cruise ship
Woman dies after going overboard in English Channel
Foreign Office issues travel advisory for winter sun destinations