iscover
Qantas will sell off its minority stake in Jetstar Japan, exiting the low-cost Asian carrier market entirely after shuttering Jetstar Asia last year.
The Flying Kangaroo, which owns 33.32 per cent of Jetstar Japan, will offload its stake in the airline, with Japanese-government-owned Development Bank of Japan (DBJ) to become a new shareholder. The carrier is expected to shed the Jetstar brand following Qantas’ exit.
This content is available exclusively to Australian Aviation members.
A monthly membership is only $5.99 or save with our annual plans.
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
Japan Airlines (JAL), which currently owns 50 per cent of Jetstar Asia, and Century Tokyo Leasing Corporation, which owns 16.68 per cent, will retain its holdings. The sale marks the end of 14 years of Qantas involvement in Jetstar Japan, which launched in 2012.
It comes after Qantas closed down Jetstar Asia in July last year, blaming “rising supplier costs, high airport fees and intensified competition in the region”, and shifted the airline’s A320 fleet to support its Australian and New Zealand operations.
“We’re incredibly proud of the pioneering role Jetstar Japan has played in the low-cost aviation sector in Japan and sincerely thank our Jetstar team members for their unwavering commitment to maintaining excellent safety, operational and service standards for millions of customers,” Qantas Group chief executive Vanessa Hudson said in a statement.
“We’re confident the new ownership structure will deliver greater value to customers, benefitting from the Development Bank of Japan’s domestic and international aviation knowledge and industry expertise as well as its strong, long-standing relationships with national and regional tourism bodies.
“We thank Japan Airlines for their strong partnership and look forward to continuing to work together during the transition and in oneworld.”
The final agreement is expected by July of this year, with the new brand to be announced in October and the deal completed by June 2027.
Following the rebrand, Jetstar Japan will retain its current staff and “proactively expand its international network, centred on the future expansion of Narita Airport” as well as grow its focus on Japanese regional services.
Masakazu Tanaka, CEO and representative director of Jetstar Japan, thanked Qantas for its support, saying it had “built an amazing airline over the last nearly 14 years, carrying more than 55 million customers”.
“As we look to the next chapter in Jetstar Japan’s history, I am pleased to work with the new ownership group to lead our LCC into the future,” he said.
“Our people are the heart of our airline, pioneering the low-cost aviation sector in Japan while maintaining excellent safety, operational and service standards and I look forward to leading them into our next phase of growth to deliver even more value to our customers.”
Qantas says it will focus its attention on Australia and New Zealand after the divestment and “further accelerate the largest fleet renewal program in the Group’s history”.
Want to see more stories from trusted news sources?
Make Australian Aviation a preferred news source on Google.
Click here to add Australian Aviation as a preferred news source.
