KEY POINTS:
Australian budget airline Jetstar's boss Alan Joyce says it is only a matter of time before his service operates domestically in New Zealand.
Joyce told TV3 the Qantas subsidiary, which runs flights between Australia and New Zealand, had just launched a service between Australia and Japan and a New Zealand service could follow.
"We are looking at the ability to take more A320s so we could operate in the domestic New Zealand market, and I think that is just a matter of time."
But the timing could be some way off, if Joyce's comments to The Australian newspaper last week are any indication.
Joyce told the paper his airline's first priority would be considering increasing its presence in cities such as Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast and assessing airport potential.
He said potential markets included Western Australia but the exact network would depend on negotiations with airports.
The newspaper said internationally Jetstar could look to include Asian destinations such as Bali as well as increased trans-Tasman operations, but was unlikely to include domestic New Zealand at this stage.
Qantas said last week it planned to acquire nine additional Airbus A320 aircraft for use by Jetstar on its domestic and short-haul international routes.
Chief executive Geoff Dixon said the aircraft will be delivered over a 15-month period from late 2007, while plans are afoot to boost capacity in the Qantas domestic operations.
Four Boeing 767-300 aircraft from the international fleet that were due to be sold from mid-2007 will now be transferred to domestic operations.
Joyce said Jetstar had grown domestically by 30 to 50 per cent per year in its first two years, and improved performance. It would get cost advantages from a bigger fleet.
He told TV3 that while Qantas has cut back its domestic service in New Zealand, Jetstar's no-frills styled success in domestic Australia could be repeated on this side of the Tasman.
"On Christchurch to Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane Qantas lost in excess of $10 million those routes, now Jetstar is making significant amounts of money on those operations."
- NZPA
