Jetstar has placed the 787-8 on its Gold Coast-Tokyo service. (Gold Coast Airport)
Jetstar launched its first Boeing 787-8 service from the Gold Coast to Tokyo Narita on July 24.
The service, which up until now had been operated by Airbus A330-200 equipment, is the latest route for the 787, five of which are now in service with Jetstar.
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“Jetstar is a long-term, valued airline partner here at Gold Coast Airport and we are thrilled to receive a 787 aircraft to service the Gold Coast – Narita route,” Gold Coast Airport COO David Collins said. “Since the Gold Coast-Tokyo service commenced in 2008, Jetstar has carried 675,000 passengers between the two destinations. The majority of inbound Japanese passengers choose to end their visit in Australia with a stay on the Gold Coast. Jetstar recognised this by making the sound business decision to commence direct Osaka and Tokyo flights into the Gold Coast back in 2008. The 787 commitment from Jetstar is a real boost for the region and signifies their belief that the future of international tourism on the Gold Coast is looking bright.”
The new aircraft has seen additional capacity added to the route, with the 787 able to carry an 33 more passengers than the A330.
Qantas own jetstar yet get all the new aircraft. Qantas are receiving 12 yr old a330’s back from jerstar. It just doesn’t make sense!
Brendan
says:
It costs money to have an aerobridge, which jetstar will pass on to the passenger.
That’s the problem these days, passengers want cheap and nasty ticket prices but want the full service experience. Usually low fares end up costing more than the full service when you addon all the extras.
Matt
says:
What a waste of a Fantastic aircraft.
reverend
says:
i hope Qantas orders boeing 787-9 to replace their boeing 747 and A330 range
Xavier
says:
Why do they paint the 787’s in this light grey instead of the silver?
Adam
says:
It makes perfect sense for Jetstar to get the 787-they are a leaner operation running on thinner profit margins due to their low fare business model, hence they need the latest fuel saving technology to be able to make money from their flying, that and the Australia Government doesnt allow depreciation at a high rate like other countries so in Australia, airlines have to fly older aircraft unlike other airlines who seem to always be rolling over their aircraft every few years…once Qantas is finished with their internal job restructurings, they will come back roaring and then flying will really open up with new aircraft/routes…these painful decisions Alan Joyce has had no choice but to resolve when really, James Strong and Geoff Dixon should have had the forward business foresight (this is why they are in positions of CEO right?) to see that deregulation, not to mention the government having a very liberal aviation policy to let anyone fly here (which dont get me wrong is good for the consumer) was always going to put pressure on the local airlines/industry. For an ex government owned airline with the associated legacy costs of the past to now compete in this modern time with shareholders and the stock marke to contend with, changes have to be made, once the changes are made at Qantas the trees will bear fruit, keep on track Qantas, those of us who can see what you are up against know you will succeed 🙂
Dee
says:
Agree with Adam, JQ should get the 787’s until QANTAS has sorted out their internal problem., The A330 will allow them a chance to retire their B767’s, and utilise the “Buses” more frequently, and open new routes through Asia.
Note that SIA is giving Scoot their first 787’s to help the LCC expand.
john
says:
Adam, have to disagree, whilst Jetstar is a leaner operation than Qantas, it makes no sense for a full service Airline like Qantas, to allow its low cost off shoot to operate a brand new plane of the calibre of the 787!!
While it is true Jetstar operate on leaner margins, the Airbus A332 is still a very efficient Aircraft!
The 787 could have been utilised by Qantas, to compete with Virgin on the Perth route, and or to Singapore and Hong Kong to compete more effectively with SIA and Cathay Pacific.
The 787 is a game changer, and business passengers would have chosen to fly on it,as it is a superior Aircraft to fly on versus A330s or 777s.
Were as your average Jetstar passenger could not, would not know what they were flying on, their primary concern is price!
It needed Qantas management to bite the bullet, and ensure the 787 was introduced into service with Qantas with more realistic Pilot and Crew wages and conditions.
Whilst Scoot are getting 787s before SIA, it must be remembered that SIA is in line for brand new A350s, so the mainline operation is hardly being neglected, and left with older equipment.
In fact the whole Qantas strategy with Jetstar long haul operations was flawed from the start!
Jetstar should have never received near new and brand new A332s to begin International Operations!
This lead to the ludicrous situation of Qantas, operating tired old 767s to Honolulu, whilst Jetstar operated the same route, with near new A332s!!
It all should have been done the other way around, Jetstar International should have received 767s from Qantas, the 767 is capable of operating any sector that Jetstar International operates.
The A332s should have remained at Qantas, and then when the 787s arrived, they should have gone to Qantas, with Jetstar then receiving A332s from Qantas, and retiring the 767s.
random
says:
It used to be that cheap airlines ran old or hand-me-down equipment – that’s what allowed them to run cheaply. Unfortunately that paradigm has shifted with the cost of fuel.
It’s actually rather hard to know which carrier should have first bite at the new fleet as both have valid reasons to want them. Whilst Jetstar good reasons to want to get its cost base down, you could reasonably argue however that QF mainline is in a more desperate state than its younger sibling and thus has more financial justification.
Adam
says:
John you make some interesting points and granted they make sense, however in the context of Australia aviation it is flawed…one only has to look at the aviation policy in Canada, they are much more restricitve of their air rights and as such, Air Canada is able to adopt new fleets of 787’s and 777’s knowing they have a captive market. Australia has decided that consumer power is better, and so gives airlines like Emirates 84 slots to this country…guess how many Canada give…3…yup just 3 to Toronto. This is just one example of how skewed the aviation industry is due to regulation and unfortunately due to a lot of restrictions due to the Qantas Sales Act…Qantas just can not compete! So Jetstar is able to and hence has been able to grow much to the benefit of the Qantas Group balance sheet…and think if you will, had Jetstar not been formed you can bet your bottom dollar that Air Asia, Lion Air, Garuda, someone would have come into the domestic airlines market, here in our own country and siphoned off money to their own countries…regardless if you hate or like Jetstar at least the profits stay with the Qantas group and that can only be a good thing. And I can tell your from experience, that even the well heeled business travellers dont know what aircraft they fly on, even I have had conversations with them who say ‘you mean this is a Jetstar A330 converted back to Qantas??’ and they think its a totally different plane to Qantas A330’s…its baffling but Jetstar has made amazing growth, not to the detriment of Qantas but as a benefit…again given that Qantas is hamstrung by the Sales Act that Joyce wants to abolish so he can take the airline into a more competitive stance…why isnt anyone saying anything about how Virgin have not expanded in their intl ops in the how many years they have been operating? If anything they have pulled out of MEL-JNB and now MEL-LAX, its very easy to criticise Jetstar but having flown on Jetstar, i believe the product is stellar compared to other low cost carriers around the world
And Random, its a conundrum isnt it? At the end of the day, I am still proud to have Qantas/Jetstar as a very formiddable airline group in this part of the world, and I will continue to support them 100%
john
says:
Adam, agree 100% with you re how our Government has opened up air routes into Australia, with out any real planning or long term vision, which as you point out has resulted in Emirates having 84 slots a week into Australia!
By contrast Canada is sensibly more cautious, but you mention Air Canada and them having new fleets of 787s.
Air Canada recently started a new long haul LCC, Rouge, Air Canada did not give Rouge brand new 787s!!
No they got Air Canada 767s!!!
Obviously Air Canada believe they can extract better yields on a 787 on business routes, than Rouge can on leisure destinations!
The Qantas Group, QF JQ have x amount of aeroplanes, flying x amount of routes and frequencies.
This flying costs the Qantas Group X amount of money, and the flying generates x amount of revenue!
So i would argue the Qantas Group could derive more revenue overall, if QF were flying 787s and A330s and Jetstar were flying 767s!
The key for Qantas is to get Qantas Pilots flying 787s, on similar salaries and more simplified conditions like Jetstar!
Adam
says:
Hey John, you definately sound like you work within the industry so its good to have a dialogue with you about this from a like minded fella 😉
This is my opinion but I think the Jetstar getting 787 idea is due to the fact that our competitors in this part of the region have significant wage benefits over Australian wages…if Jetstar was to go up against say Air Asia X who fly the A330’s also, inevitably the Air Asia operation would be more efficient due to those cheaper asian wages. And so I believe that Jetstar with the 20% fuel cost saving 787s bring that bargaining power back to within a fighting chance…of course, with the a330NEO and scoot getting 787s as well…its going to hot things up even more within the LCC fight within Asia, but hopefully with the market as big as it is and Jetstars pan asian strategy in full swing a lot stronger than a lot of the others, the fight will be well worth fighting ! 😀
It has also been said that the 787 is just not optimised for domestic flying, its at its most productive when flying long haul…and thats true given it can fly to the US so I dont think domestic passengers would pay a premium to fly on a 787 domestically for a 3 hr PER-MEL. For domestic passengers the figures show that price will continue to be a big decider in choosing an airfare, hence the Jetstar and Tiger flights across the country complimenting both Qantas and Virgin’s full service products.
As far as your last comment, I couldnt agree more…unfortunately the golden days of flying are over, the US carriers have had to deal with it, JAL had to deal with it during its turnaround, the euro legacies had to deal with it, in competing with low cost carriers…there has to be a unified effort to get all airlines in the Qantas group to share the burden to bring the group back to profitability…I know I am going to get a lot of flamers for that, but wages have to come down…I’m not saying pay pilots the abysmal regional rates that the commuter airlines in USA pay but some medium ground where their wages are a fair representation of their skill and effort and is also conducive to growth for the airline long term 🙂
iscover
Stu Bee
says:Still gotta walk across the tarmac though…
Rob
says:Qantas own jetstar yet get all the new aircraft. Qantas are receiving 12 yr old a330’s back from jerstar. It just doesn’t make sense!
Brendan
says:It costs money to have an aerobridge, which jetstar will pass on to the passenger.
That’s the problem these days, passengers want cheap and nasty ticket prices but want the full service experience. Usually low fares end up costing more than the full service when you addon all the extras.
Matt
says:What a waste of a Fantastic aircraft.
reverend
says:i hope Qantas orders boeing 787-9 to replace their boeing 747 and A330 range
Xavier
says:Why do they paint the 787’s in this light grey instead of the silver?
Adam
says:It makes perfect sense for Jetstar to get the 787-they are a leaner operation running on thinner profit margins due to their low fare business model, hence they need the latest fuel saving technology to be able to make money from their flying, that and the Australia Government doesnt allow depreciation at a high rate like other countries so in Australia, airlines have to fly older aircraft unlike other airlines who seem to always be rolling over their aircraft every few years…once Qantas is finished with their internal job restructurings, they will come back roaring and then flying will really open up with new aircraft/routes…these painful decisions Alan Joyce has had no choice but to resolve when really, James Strong and Geoff Dixon should have had the forward business foresight (this is why they are in positions of CEO right?) to see that deregulation, not to mention the government having a very liberal aviation policy to let anyone fly here (which dont get me wrong is good for the consumer) was always going to put pressure on the local airlines/industry. For an ex government owned airline with the associated legacy costs of the past to now compete in this modern time with shareholders and the stock marke to contend with, changes have to be made, once the changes are made at Qantas the trees will bear fruit, keep on track Qantas, those of us who can see what you are up against know you will succeed 🙂
Dee
says:Agree with Adam, JQ should get the 787’s until QANTAS has sorted out their internal problem., The A330 will allow them a chance to retire their B767’s, and utilise the “Buses” more frequently, and open new routes through Asia.
Note that SIA is giving Scoot their first 787’s to help the LCC expand.
john
says:Adam, have to disagree, whilst Jetstar is a leaner operation than Qantas, it makes no sense for a full service Airline like Qantas, to allow its low cost off shoot to operate a brand new plane of the calibre of the 787!!
While it is true Jetstar operate on leaner margins, the Airbus A332 is still a very efficient Aircraft!
The 787 could have been utilised by Qantas, to compete with Virgin on the Perth route, and or to Singapore and Hong Kong to compete more effectively with SIA and Cathay Pacific.
The 787 is a game changer, and business passengers would have chosen to fly on it,as it is a superior Aircraft to fly on versus A330s or 777s.
Were as your average Jetstar passenger could not, would not know what they were flying on, their primary concern is price!
It needed Qantas management to bite the bullet, and ensure the 787 was introduced into service with Qantas with more realistic Pilot and Crew wages and conditions.
Whilst Scoot are getting 787s before SIA, it must be remembered that SIA is in line for brand new A350s, so the mainline operation is hardly being neglected, and left with older equipment.
In fact the whole Qantas strategy with Jetstar long haul operations was flawed from the start!
Jetstar should have never received near new and brand new A332s to begin International Operations!
This lead to the ludicrous situation of Qantas, operating tired old 767s to Honolulu, whilst Jetstar operated the same route, with near new A332s!!
It all should have been done the other way around, Jetstar International should have received 767s from Qantas, the 767 is capable of operating any sector that Jetstar International operates.
The A332s should have remained at Qantas, and then when the 787s arrived, they should have gone to Qantas, with Jetstar then receiving A332s from Qantas, and retiring the 767s.
random
says:It used to be that cheap airlines ran old or hand-me-down equipment – that’s what allowed them to run cheaply. Unfortunately that paradigm has shifted with the cost of fuel.
It’s actually rather hard to know which carrier should have first bite at the new fleet as both have valid reasons to want them. Whilst Jetstar good reasons to want to get its cost base down, you could reasonably argue however that QF mainline is in a more desperate state than its younger sibling and thus has more financial justification.
Adam
says:John you make some interesting points and granted they make sense, however in the context of Australia aviation it is flawed…one only has to look at the aviation policy in Canada, they are much more restricitve of their air rights and as such, Air Canada is able to adopt new fleets of 787’s and 777’s knowing they have a captive market. Australia has decided that consumer power is better, and so gives airlines like Emirates 84 slots to this country…guess how many Canada give…3…yup just 3 to Toronto. This is just one example of how skewed the aviation industry is due to regulation and unfortunately due to a lot of restrictions due to the Qantas Sales Act…Qantas just can not compete! So Jetstar is able to and hence has been able to grow much to the benefit of the Qantas Group balance sheet…and think if you will, had Jetstar not been formed you can bet your bottom dollar that Air Asia, Lion Air, Garuda, someone would have come into the domestic airlines market, here in our own country and siphoned off money to their own countries…regardless if you hate or like Jetstar at least the profits stay with the Qantas group and that can only be a good thing. And I can tell your from experience, that even the well heeled business travellers dont know what aircraft they fly on, even I have had conversations with them who say ‘you mean this is a Jetstar A330 converted back to Qantas??’ and they think its a totally different plane to Qantas A330’s…its baffling but Jetstar has made amazing growth, not to the detriment of Qantas but as a benefit…again given that Qantas is hamstrung by the Sales Act that Joyce wants to abolish so he can take the airline into a more competitive stance…why isnt anyone saying anything about how Virgin have not expanded in their intl ops in the how many years they have been operating? If anything they have pulled out of MEL-JNB and now MEL-LAX, its very easy to criticise Jetstar but having flown on Jetstar, i believe the product is stellar compared to other low cost carriers around the world
And Random, its a conundrum isnt it? At the end of the day, I am still proud to have Qantas/Jetstar as a very formiddable airline group in this part of the world, and I will continue to support them 100%
john
says:Adam, agree 100% with you re how our Government has opened up air routes into Australia, with out any real planning or long term vision, which as you point out has resulted in Emirates having 84 slots a week into Australia!
By contrast Canada is sensibly more cautious, but you mention Air Canada and them having new fleets of 787s.
Air Canada recently started a new long haul LCC, Rouge, Air Canada did not give Rouge brand new 787s!!
No they got Air Canada 767s!!!
Obviously Air Canada believe they can extract better yields on a 787 on business routes, than Rouge can on leisure destinations!
The Qantas Group, QF JQ have x amount of aeroplanes, flying x amount of routes and frequencies.
This flying costs the Qantas Group X amount of money, and the flying generates x amount of revenue!
So i would argue the Qantas Group could derive more revenue overall, if QF were flying 787s and A330s and Jetstar were flying 767s!
The key for Qantas is to get Qantas Pilots flying 787s, on similar salaries and more simplified conditions like Jetstar!
Adam
says:Hey John, you definately sound like you work within the industry so its good to have a dialogue with you about this from a like minded fella 😉
This is my opinion but I think the Jetstar getting 787 idea is due to the fact that our competitors in this part of the region have significant wage benefits over Australian wages…if Jetstar was to go up against say Air Asia X who fly the A330’s also, inevitably the Air Asia operation would be more efficient due to those cheaper asian wages. And so I believe that Jetstar with the 20% fuel cost saving 787s bring that bargaining power back to within a fighting chance…of course, with the a330NEO and scoot getting 787s as well…its going to hot things up even more within the LCC fight within Asia, but hopefully with the market as big as it is and Jetstars pan asian strategy in full swing a lot stronger than a lot of the others, the fight will be well worth fighting ! 😀
It has also been said that the 787 is just not optimised for domestic flying, its at its most productive when flying long haul…and thats true given it can fly to the US so I dont think domestic passengers would pay a premium to fly on a 787 domestically for a 3 hr PER-MEL. For domestic passengers the figures show that price will continue to be a big decider in choosing an airfare, hence the Jetstar and Tiger flights across the country complimenting both Qantas and Virgin’s full service products.
As far as your last comment, I couldnt agree more…unfortunately the golden days of flying are over, the US carriers have had to deal with it, JAL had to deal with it during its turnaround, the euro legacies had to deal with it, in competing with low cost carriers…there has to be a unified effort to get all airlines in the Qantas group to share the burden to bring the group back to profitability…I know I am going to get a lot of flamers for that, but wages have to come down…I’m not saying pay pilots the abysmal regional rates that the commuter airlines in USA pay but some medium ground where their wages are a fair representation of their skill and effort and is also conducive to growth for the airline long term 🙂