Jetstar connects to Asia

Budget airline Jetstar, a wholly owned subsidiary of Qantas, now runs 28 return services weekly to Australia from Christchurch using a fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft.

From November 23, Jetstar flights will link with overseas services to Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam, Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand, and the Indonesian resort island of Bali.

A direct daily service to the Japanese city of Osaka will start in March.

Chief executive Alan Joyce said it would launch services "very soon [to] the Pacific".

South Island travellers would see the most direct benefits through Jetstar's Christchurch-based services, but other places would be served by Qantas flights which would connect with international Jetstar flights in Australia.