• Jetstar bumps up capacity in response to more Australians travelling overseas
• 28,000 extra seats to Phuket, Bali and Honolulu
• Continued domestic growth for holidays closer to home

Jetstar has ramped up long haul international flights to popular holiday destinations Hawaii, Indonesia and Thailand in response to the increasing number of Aussie holidaymakers seeking affordable overseas family getaways.

Between 23 December 2011 and 31 January 2012, Jetstar will offer almost 28,000 extra seats to-and-from Phuket, Bali and Honolulu. That’s almost 40 per cent more compared to the same peak period last year.

The increased summer holiday schedule is supported by the delivery of the airline’s 11th A330 in late November. Jetstar’s latest inflight entertainment, the iPad, is available for hire from December.

Jetstar also continues to grow its domestic network, recently introducing additional flights to holiday destinations such as Tasmania.

Jetstar Group CEO Bruce Buchanan said the low cost carrier’s expanding network across Asia was providing more affordable options for Australians.

“As well as supporting inbound tourism from places like China and Japan, the growth of our network means Jetstar has more than 40 destinations outside of Australia that people can now fly to,” he said.

Jetstar Australia & NZ CEO David Hall said Jetstar was bumping up capacity in response to the strong demand from Australians travelling overseas for holidays, particularly over peak periods such as Christmas and New Year.

“Australians are continuing to travel overseas in record numbers and industry estimates suggest this will grow by 11 per cent to 4.7 million this calendar year,” Mr Hall said.

Mr Hall said demand for international travel was being driven by access to low fares and economic conditions such as the strong Australian dollar.

“We are seeing strong increases in demand to Indonesia, Hawaii and Thailand, which are now the second, third and fourth most popular international destinations for Australians respectively.”

Figures show more holidaymakers are choosing to fly with low cost carriers internationally – proven by a 13 per cent increase in people flying with LCCs to and from Australia for the year to June 30 this year.

Flights can be booked at Jetstar.com.

Summary of Schedule Changes

NEW SCHEDULE (22 DECEMBER 2011 – 30 JANUARY 2012)

• Sydney-Bali - Daily (2 extra weekly services)
• Melbourne-Bali - Daily (3 extra weekly services
• Sydney-Phuket - 4 times weekly (1 extra weekly service)
• Melbourne-Bangkok - 4 times weekly (1 extra weekly service)
• Sydney-Honolulu - Daily (2 extra weekly services

Jetstar schedule Sydney - Bali (Denpasar) from 23 December 2011 - 31 January

• Sydney – Bali (Denpasar) - JQ37 Depart 17.35 daily
• Bali (Denpasar) – Sydney - JQ38 Depart 22.10 daily

Jetstar schedule Melbourne - Bali (Denpasar) from 23 December 2011 - 31 January 2011

• Melbourne - Bali (Denpasar) - JQ35 Depart 18.45 daily
• Bali (Denpasar) - Melbourne - JQ36 Depart 23.00 daily

Jetstar schedule Sydney - Phuket from 23 December 2011 - 31 January 2011

• Sydney - Phuket - JQ27 Depart 14.15 Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat*
• Phuket - Sydney - JQ28 Depart 21.00 Mon, Wed, Fri, Sat*

Jetstar schedule Melbourne - Bangkok from 23 December - 31 January 2011

• Melbourne - Bangkok - JQ29 Depart 14.10 Tues, Thurs, Sat*, Sun
• Bangkok - Melbourne - JQ30 Depart 21.15 Mon, Thurs, Sat*, Sun

Jetstar schedule Sydney - Honolulu from 23 December - 31 January 2011

• Sydney - Honolulu - JQ3 Depart 18.00 daily
• Honolulu - Sydney - JQ4 Depart 08.15 daily

*New service