Jetstar Airways is making Perth, Australia, its latest base, as the carrier boosts its international network from the West Australian city.
To support its planned growth in Perth, Jetstar will open a pilot base for at least 60 pilots. The airline will also base four aircraft there, including Airbus A321LRs, the airline said.
Jetstar Group CEO Stephanie Tully described the Perth moves as “one of Jetstar’s most significant network expansions in recent years.”
The carrier announced three new international routes from Perth to begin next year. The routes are to Singapore, and Phuket and Bangkok in Thailand. More new routes from Perth will be revealed in the coming months, the airline said.
Customers will be able to connect to Jetstar Asia in Singapore, which will allow access to its 13 Asian destinations.
Jetstar said the Perth expansion has been enabled “by a pipeline of new [A320] Neo aircraft joining the airline’s fleet, freeing up existing aircraft and creating new flying opportunities.”
Perth is Jetstar’s eighth largest Australasian station, as measured by weekly seats, according to data from CAPA and OAG. The top seven are Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Auckland, Cairns and Adelaide. Perth may move up this list after Jetstar adds the new routes.
Jetstar has the third-largest share of system capacity at Perth Airport, again measured in weekly seats. Its share of 8.1% is behind parent company Qantas with 39.7%, and Virgin Australia with 23.3%.
The carrier will join three incumbent carriers on the Perth-Singapore route, according to CAPA data: Qantas, Singapore Airlines and Scoot.
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