• Recruitment for first wave of pilots underway
• Estimates show Jetstar Hong Kong expected to contribute up to HK$8 billion a year to local economy from 2015
• Qantas Group and China Eastern finalise Shareholders’ Agreement

Momentum continues to build for a low fares airline in Hong Kong, with Jetstar Hong Kong starting its pilot recruitment and figures showing the carrier is poised to deliver a major economic boost to the city.

Jetstar is calling for expressions of interest from qualified captains and first officers to fill up to 50 initial roles to operate its fleet of new A320 aircraft from 2013 (subject to regulatory approval). The pilots will be based in Hong Kong. Adverts for expressions of interest will start to appear from this weekend.

Jetstar Group CEO, Jayne Hrdlicka, said the start of pilot recruitment followed acceptance of the Air Operators Certificate application by the Civil Aviation Department as the next major milestone for the new airline.

“Hong Kong is a major hub in the global market for pilots and Jetstar is one of the world’s leading low fare carrier brands,” said Ms Hrdlicka.

“The rapid growth profile of the new airline means that we’re able to offer pilots great career opportunities, combined with a strong safety-first culture.

Ms Hrdlicka said analysis by the Jetstar Group showed the new airline would add over HK$8 billion annually to the local Hong Kong economy by the time it reached 18 aircraft at the end of 2015.

“From the outset we’ve talked about unlocking the benefits of low fares travel for Hong Kong which enables people to travel for the first time and people to travel more often and quickly flows through to greater tourism spending,” she added.

Using established measures of visitor spending, the analysis calculated the anticipated impact of increased tourism on hotels, restaurants, leading tourist attractions and shops. The HK$8 billion figure also includes an estimated 600 hundred local jobs created within the airline plus hundreds more in local engineering and ground handling suppliers.

SHAREHOLDER AGREEMENT FINALISED

China Eastern Airlines and the Qantas Group have finalised the Shareholders’ Agreement that underpins their joint investment in Jetstar Hong Kong. This agreement formalises the memorandum of understanding that the two partners entered into in March this year when Jetstar Hong Kong was first announced.

Qantas Group CEO, Alan Joyce, said: “We are very pleased to be strengthening our longstanding connection with China Eastern Airlines. Jetstar Hong Kong enables us to leverage our dual brand stratetgy to tap into the growing demand across Greater China for leisure travel.”

Jetstar Hong Kong will be a Hong Kong designated airline operating under the Jetstar brand. The Jetstar Group comprises airlines in Singapore, Japan, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand. The Jetstar Group yesterday announced a record underlying earnings before interest and tax of AUD$203 million for the year ended 30 June 2012, an increase of 20 per cent on the previous year.

MORE INFORMATION

ABOUT JETSTAR GROUP

The Jetstar Group (subsidiary of the Qantas Group) is Asia Pacific’s fastest growing and largest low fares network by revenue. It is made up of Jetstar Airways in Australia and New Zealand together with Jetstar branded airlines, Jetstar Asia in Singapore, Jetstar Pacific in Vietnam, Jetstar Japan in Japan and from 2013 (subject to regulatory approval) Jetstar Hong Kong. Jetstar-branded carriers operate up to 3,000 flights a week to around 60 destinations. The Jetstar Group carried more than 20 million people in FY12.

ABOUT JETSTAR HONG KONG

Jetstar Hong Kong will be a low fares carrier based in and operated from Hong Kong. It is a partnership between the Qantas Group (parent company of Jetstar) and China Eastern Airlines. Subject to regulatory approval, Jetstar Hong Kong plans to fly short haul services to Greater China, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia. It will initially operate a fleet of three new Airbus A320-200 aircraft, configured for 180 passengers. It is expected to grow to 18 aircraft by 2015.