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SINGAPORE: Singapore-based budget airline Jetstar Asia is taking steps to catch up with other low-cost carriers.
It is adding three new Airbus A320 planes to its fleet in Singapore by early 2010. This will expand its current capacity by 46 per cent.
Jetstar is setting its sights on the Pan-Asian region and it is positive the region has huge potential for growth.
CEO, Jetstar Asia, Chong Phit Lian, said: "Notwithstanding the (global economic) slowdown, Asia is still tipped to be the fastest growing market in the entire world economy. So we believe there is still a lot of potential in Asia, especially the good opportunity of using Singapore as a hub to serve Asia and beyond."
Full service carriers have been hit by the sharp drop in demand because of the global downturn, but Jetstar said it has seen double-digit growth in passenger demand over the past months, compared to a year ago.
That is partly because it has been attracting an increasing number of business travellers from firms keen to keep travel costs down.
Chong said: "We started responding to suggestions from business travellers for us to set up some kind of privilege for them, which we did last year. We started with 50 firms and very quickly it grew to 300. Now we have 400 corporations travelling with us, and some of which are multi-national companies."
Jetstar also plans to grow its passenger numbers by offering new destinations in India and China. Analysts said the move is timely, as China and India are under-served by the low-cost model.
Siva Govindasamy, Asia editor, Flight International, said: "What we have to remember is that Jetstar Asia had seen itself slip a bit in the last few years and it is trying to plug that gap.
"What you also have to remember is that Jetstar Asia had not expanded its operations as aggressively before as Tiger Airways had, or even AirAsia, who doesn't base its aircrafts in Singapore, but has extensive operations out of Singapore. So Jetstar Asia is, in a way, looking to see what it can do to keep up with competition here.
"Tiger Airways in Australia, for example, has responded by offering cheaper tickets on the Sydney-Melbourne route. I think we may see some of that spillover here. We may see Tiger Airways and AirAsia offering a few more deals. That may help bring down prices a bit more."
Currently, Jetstar operates seven Airbus A320 planes to 17 destinations from Singapore's Changi Airport Terminal 1. It hopes to add two new countries to its routes by the year-end.
- CNA/yt
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