Jetstar Asia Airways Airlines

  About Jetstar Asia Airways

Jetstar Asia Airways Pte Ltd or better known by its operating name Jetstar Asia Airways is a low-cost airline that is based out of Singapore. The airline is one of Jetstar Airways' Asian sister-concern which is a subsidiary of Qantas airline. Jetstar Asia Airways caters to the regional destinations of several Southeast Asian countries, including Myanmar, Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, Malaysia and more. The airline also has domestic routes and regional routes that fly to a few East Asian destinations like Hong Kong, Japan and Taiwan. Jetstar Asia Airways is the main feeder airline for Jetstar Airways with respect to enabling budget travellers to fly from Australia to Southeast Asian countries. Along with Jetstar in Australia, the airline also has other siblings such as Jetstar in New Zealand, Jetstar Japan and Jetstar Pacific (prevalent in Vietnam). The airline was launched as a partnership between the Australia airline company Qantas and Singaporean entrepreneurs, Tony Chew and FF Wong. The Singapore Government's investment company, Temasek Holdings, also has some shares in Jetstar Asia Airways.

After receiving an Air Operator's Certificate from the government of Singapore, the airline commenced operations in 2004. While Qantas holds the maximum stake in the airline with 49 per cent, the other shares are divided among the remaining shareholders with Tony Chew receiving 22 per cent, FF Wong taking 10 per cent shares and Temasek Holdings Private Ltd having 19 percent of stakes in the airline. As a late entrant in the market, Jetstar Asia Airways set itself apart from its competitors by flying within a 5-hour radius from the city of Singapore, as opposed to how the other airlines would fly within the 4-hour radius, to connect to a plethora of destinations. Jetstar Asia Airways stated that they would be connecting to seven international routes from Singapore with cities such as Manila, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Shanghai, Surabaya and Taipei. It has been recognised as one of the most ambitious start-up strategies in comparison to its Asian rivals in the aviation industry. In 2004, the airline introduced online ticketing services as part of their promotional strategy. Following an announcement of three routes, the airline showcased the promotional offers which stood at S$48 to Hong Kong from Singapore, S$88 to Taipei in Taiwan and S$28 to Pattaya in Thailand.

Further, with a view to expanding its venture, the airline commenced flight operations to Manila in 2005. The airline chose to fly to Ninoy Aquino International Airport instead of resorting to the cheaper option being Clark International Airport in Angeles City. While they were able to commence operations to a majority of the cities, a handful of destinations that were announced, such as Shanghai, Surabaya and Jakarta couldn't start in the same timeline. Non-stop flights to Shanghai couldn't start as the government of China's aviation authority did not permit foreign budget airlines to fly to either Beijing or Shanghai airports. Meanwhile, the Indonesian government also cited the policy of protectionism as the reason behind not allowing Jetstar Asia Airways' operations. Despite some of the challenges that the airline faced following its inception, the airline managed to rise to the competition and acquire approvals for new international routes. They received rights to fly to Cambodia's Phnom Penh and Siem Reap, following the government's approval. Following years, the airline announced several new international route operations and even acquired a better and stronger fleet over time.

Fleet size of Jetstar Asia Airways

As of 2020, Jetstar Asia Airways' fleet size stands at 18 aircraft that feature some of the best seats and in-flight services. In fact, the fleet of the airline only has Airbus A320-200. The airline has expressed its desire to expand the fleet to boost its revenue and to acquire more international routes to be added to their network. Jetstar Asia Airways witnessed a severe financial conundrum in the fiscal year 2014-15. This led to the airline choosing to hold back their expansion plans with respect to the fleet. They needed to first put their focus on increasing the yield in its domestic market. Eventually, they did start taking up several codeshare agreements along with interline partnerships too, to help the airline expand its capacity. Even though the airline did manage to get out of its financial difficulty, plans to expand the fleet size and introduce new aircraft is still not on cards. In fact, Jetstar Asia Airways believes that the Singaporean market has not sufficiently enhanced and investing in the fleet would put them in a huge peril.

Baggage Allowance

Baggage allowance of Jetstar Asia Airways as a low-cost carrier is quite limited. For checked baggage allowance, Jetstar Asia Airways has laid down specifics that pertain to specific cabin class. For passengers who are travelling by JetSaver and JetFlex, the airline allows a weight of 20 kg in checked baggage. As for passengers of the StarClass cabin, Jetstar Asia Airways allows 30 kg maximum weight. Usually, the airline expects passengers to pay for their checked baggage. For the carry-on baggage, the airline has enabled the passenger to carry only one baggage along with an accessory bag. The weight of the hand luggage should not exceed more than 10 kg for passengers. They are pretty strict with their rules and policies when it comes to baggage. The dimensions of the hand baggage should not be more than 114 cm in total. The length, width and depth of the baggage should collectively be no more than 114 cm. The accessory bag could be a handbag, a purse, laptop bag, briefcase or any bag that has limited items in it. The accessory bag should also be accommodating and fit under the front seat.

In-flight services

Much like its parent company and sister concerns, Jetstar Asia Airways also offers phenomenal in-flight services that are perfect for budget travellers. As a low-cost carrier, it does not have the premium facilities such as diverse cabin classes or exquisite seating configuration. However, it does have comfortable seats along with decent legroom. Plus, the airline also offers in-flight services such as in-flight meals, entertainment systems that have been set up on all seats and friendly staff.

Popular routes and top cities of Jetstar Asia Airways

As of 2020, Jetstar Asia Airways has managed to bring forth a vast number of operations catering to international routes and domestic routes. Despite being a young low-cost carrier, the airline has brought forth a good expansion strategy that has enabled it to rise from its losses and get better deals. The popular destinations that the airline operates from including Bangkok, Clark, Da Nang, Darwin, Denpasar, Haikou, Hefei, Ho Chi Minh City, Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Medan, Naha, Osaka, Phnom Penh, Phuket, Sanya, Shantou, Siem Reap, Singapore, Taipei, Surabaya, Taipei, Xuzhou and Yangon. Much recently, it was announced that the airline would be commencing flight operations to and from Sri Lanka's Colombo too. While the airline has acquired a bunch of destinations to boast, it has also terminated operations in many cities and destinations. Some of them are Bangalore, Auckland, Fukuoka, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Hat Yai, Hong Kong, Kolkata, Macau, Ningbo, Pattaya, Perth, and Palembang. Much of the cities that do not have Jetstar Asia Airways' operations are from China and a handful of Malaysian, Indian and Thailand destinations.

Additionally, the airline has also signed codeshare agreements with airlines such as Finnair, SriLankan Airlines, Emirates and Qantas. Along with it, Jetstar Asia Airways has also engaged in interline agreements with airlines namely Air France, Air Mauritius, British Airways, Fiji Airways, China Southern Airlines, KLM, PLOT Polish Airlines, Lufthansa and Turkish Airlines. This has actually helped the airline expand its list of international destinations.

Why travel by Jetstar Asia Airways?

Jetstar Asia Airways is a budding airline that has witnessed growth in the last few years. The airline already has a slew of competitors in the Asian market, even for a low-cost carrier. In fact, there are many more such carriers that fly to and from some of the top Asian destinations. However, despite such challenges, Jetstar Asia Airways makes up for its excellent in-flight services and route connectivity. They have grown tremendously since the airline's inception and has witnessed many milestones too.

Further, adding to the great name and fame of Jetstar Airways, Jetstar Asia Airways has enabled better facilities both, in-flight and online. Passengers can now do web check-ins from the airline's official website. They can also add the flight details to get an update on the flight status. Not to mention how the airline has worked extensively towards maintaining an ideal flight schedule and incorporating other online perks too, such as accommodation and flight combo discounts. Following the booking of a Jetstar Asia Airways flight ticket online, passengers will get a detailed update on the position of baggage allowance and the in-flight services that they are eligible for onboard.

All of this comes at a very reasonable cost as the ticket prices are quite affordable. For passengers who are looking for budget trips to destinations in Southeast Asia, Jetstar Asia Airways is quite ideal.