Jetstar is expanding its pan Asian operations with a new low fare airline that will stimulate fresh travel demand in Japan.

Australians travellers can look forward to more exciting and affordable travel options within Japan from 2012, with Jetstar today announcing plans to fly domestically in one of the world’s biggest economies.

Jetstar Japan is the latest expansion of the low fares leader’s network, which already connects Australia to its operations in 17 countries including Singapore, Vietnam and New Zealand.

Chief Executive Officer of Jetstar, Bruce Buchanan, said the new venture would enable Australians to link low fare services to Osaka and Tokyo with other leisure hot-spots across Japan. Fares are expected to be an average of 40 per cent lower than current prices and special sales with even lower prices, which will make regular air travel a reality for millions more.

“Jetstar is about bringing exciting travel options within reach of more people, by offering sustainably low fares,” said Mr Buchanan.

“Jetstar Japan means Australians will be able to travel on our network into either Tokyo or Osaka, and then continue on to the famous ski fields or cultural centres under our much-loved orange star.”

Jetstar Japan expects to fly from Tokyo (Narita) and Kansai International, with other destination airports and bases being considered including Sapporo, Fukuoka, and Okinawa.

The new airline, a partnership between Qantas Group, JAL and Mitsubishi Corporation, is expected to start flying by the end of 2012, with an initial fleet of three new Airbus A320 aircraft, configured for 180 customers in a single class. This fleet is planned to grow to 24 A320s within a few years. Total capitalization commitment for the new airline up to ¥12 billion.

“We are an Australian airline being invited to partner with two of the most established companies in Japan and apply our successful formula on their turf. We feel very proud about that,” added Mr Buchanan.

“As Jetstar expands into new markets across Asia, it gives us economies of scale to strengthen the low cost advantage right across our network, including within Australia and New Zealand.

“Jetstar Japan has real potential to be a major boost for Australian tourism, because it will make Australia more accessible to new markets across Japan to access our existing flights into Cairns and the Gold Coast,” added Mr Buchanan.

Jetstar was the first low cost airline to enter Japan in 2007 with flights from Osaka and Tokyo to Cairns and the Gold Coast. Around 2 million people have since travelled on these routes.

Jetstar is the Asia Pacific’s largest airline by revenue as well as its fastest growing, carrying almost 20 million people a year in just its seventh year of operation.

YOUTUBE and FLICKR

• A Youtube video has been developed to celebrate the launch of Jetstar Japan
•  To see a graphic explaining how Jetstar has flown above its rivals in terms of LCC passenger growth in its first 7 years of operation see our Flickr stream

BACKGROUND FACT SHEET

About Jetstar’s existing Japan operations

• Jetstar Airways currently flies long haul services with its fleet of Airbus A330 two class aircraft from both Tokyo and Osaka to Cairns and the Gold Coast in Australia, and from Singapore (via Taipei) to Osaka with Jetstar Asia’s short haul A320 fleet.
• Since the launch of long haul services in March 2007, Jetstar has become the largest carrier operating services between Australia and Japan and has carried some 2 million customers on its value-based services.
• In 2009, Jetstar was named one of the 100 Best Brands at the 20th annual “Japan’s Best Advertisers” Awards ceremony.

About the Qantas Group and Jetstar

• The Qantas Group’s two complementary flying brands, Qantas and Jetstar, give it unique strength in terms of scale, network and customer reach.
• Qantas is Australia’s largest domestic and international airline and is ranked among the world’s leading premium carriers. Jetstar is one of the world’s fastest-growing and most successful low-cost carrier brands, operating in Australia, New Zealand, the Pacific, and throughout Asia.
• Jetstar is a low fares network of airlines operating in the leisure and value based markets. The Jetstar Group is made up of Jetstar Airways in Australia and New Zealand together with Jetstar branded airlines, Jetstar Asia based in Singapore and Jetstar Pacific based in Vietnam. Jetstar was the first to offer low fare long-haul international services in 2006.
• Jetstar’s mission is to offer all day, every day low fares to enable more people to fly to more places, more often.
• The Jetstar Group is the largest low cost carrier in the Asia Pacific by revenue and has flown over 75 million customers since it launched in 2004. It is also the region’s fastest growing airline, carrying almost 20 million passengers a year just seven years after start up.
• By end-2011 the Jetstar Group will collectively offer more than 3,000 flights a week to over 60 destinations in 17 countries and territories across the Asia Pacific region with a fleet of 86 aircraft.
• The Jetstar Group employs more than 7,000 staff across Asia Pacific.

About Japan Airlines

• Japan Airlines (JAL), awarded the most punctual major global airline in 2009 and 2010, is a member of the oneworld(R) Alliance.
• JAL is a full service carrier with an international network reaching more than 225 airports in 38 countries and regions together with its codeshare partners. From its bases in Tokyo’s Narita Airport and Haneda Airport, as well as Osaka, Kansai, JAL operates non-stop flights serving destinations in North America, Asia, Europe, and Sydney in the Oceania region.
• Domestically, the airline covers more than 50 airports throughout Japan with its largest operations at Tokyo, Haneda.
• JAL operates an average of approximately 22,000 international and domestic flights a month, with a fleet of some 200 aircraft that includes Boeing 777s, 767s, 737-800s, and Brazilian-made regional jets, Embraer E170.
• Japan Airlines’ frequent flyer program, JAL Mileage Bank (JMB), is one of the world’s largest loyalty programs, with over 23 million members worldwide today.

Company name: Japan Airlines Co., Ltd.
Address: 4-11 Higashi-Shinagawa 2-chome, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Kazuo Inamori (Chairman), Masaru Onishi (President)
Date of establishment: October 1, 1953
Capital: 205 billion yen
Number of employees: 13,114 (as of July 1, 2011)

About Mitsubishi Corporation

• Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) is Japan’s largest general trading company (sogo shosha) with over 200 bases of operations in approximately 80 countries around the world, including Japan.
• In addition to its six Business Groups (Industrial Finance, Logistics & Development; Energy; Metals; Machinery; Chemicals; and Living Essentials), MC has added two new Groups, the Business Service Group and the Global Environment Business Development Group.
• Through these organizations and more than 500 subsidiaries and affiliates, MC serves customers around the world in virtually every industry.

Company name: Mitsubishi Corporation
Address: 2-3-1 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Ken Kobayashi (President and Chief Executive Officer)
Date of establishment: April 1, 1950
Capital: 204 billion yen
Number of employees: 5,665 (as of March 31, 2011)