Jetstar set for big domestic expansion

Jetstar has announced that it plans to add four new aircraft and 77 new weekly services to its domestic schedule during 2010 as it continues its fight with the rapidly expanding Tiger Airways.

The airline is planning major increases in frequency on a number of routes, predominately form Melbourne and Sydney to destinations including Cairns, Gold Coast, Sunshine Coast, Newcastle and Tasmania which will be rolled out from March to July 2010 as the four additional Airbus A320s enter the fleet. Collectively, the new services represent an introduction of approximately 700,000 seats to the domestic market.

“Jetstar’s domestic network continues to provide a platform for this success, with the airline’s Australian domestic marketshare continuing to grow to around 18 per cent, maintaining Qantas Group market share at 65 per cent,” said CEO Bruce Buchanan.

The increases include additional frequencies on routes including Sydney-Gold Coast, Melbourne-Sunshine Coast and Melbourne-Gold Coast where rival Tiger Airways has announced plans to add capacity. In addition, the airline appears to be preparing for new route announcements from its rival, adding more services on other routes including Adelaide-Cairns, Sydney-Cairns and Brisbane-Launceston.