Jetstar aiming to bust myths as it takes on Air NZ
Qantas and Jetstar took a different approach to refunds last year than Air New Zealand, which gave credits on non-refundable tickets, giving money back in limited cases.
Jetstar chief executive Gareth Evans says if a Jetstar flight was cancelled and passengers could not be re-accommodated within a reasonable time, they were eligible for a credit or a refund.
Will this different stance help his airline in this country?
“Kiwis have a strong affiliation with Air New Zealand — we just hope that New Zealanders continue to trust Jetstar, the low fares, and give Jetstar a try,” he says.
Jetstar flies about 100 flights a week between Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Queenstown and Dunedin, and after a rough start has greatly improved its punctuality. Evans says passenger surveys show 80 per cent of travellers are extremely satisfied with the service and 90 per cent satisfied with the timeliness.
“As we come back we want to bust myths and get New Zealanders to give us a go.”
New Zealand was the first domestic market where Jetstar was able to rebuild strongly but after a stuttering re-start the Australian domestic market was cranking.
Jetstar has recovered to 100 per cent of its pre-pandemic capacity and plans to be at 110 per cent next month, with demand helped by an Australian government tourism package which includes 800,000 subsidised airfares.
The airline has worked on its technology during the past year to try to make the passenger journey more seamless, but will not be changing other key pillars – paying for extras if passengers want them, and low fares.
During the past year, Jetstar’s parent the Qantas group raised more than $A2 billion ($2.15b) in new capital and its share price has recovered from $A2.36 to a 12-month high of $A5.52.
Evans was formerly the head of Qantas’ international airline and is seen as a contender to replace Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce when he retires.
Evans says the group will be a strong competitor in any market where it operates. Qantas hopes to start some long haul flying in October.
“The Qantas group is in a unique position, we’ve weathered this well and while we’ve had to take on more debt, we’ve also taken on external equity – we’re already starting to effect balance sheet repair with our strong domestic network and now we’re focused on taking advantage of when the international markets open.”
He says it is difficult to predict how the airline industry will bounce back. “All airlines have been deeply impacted by what has happened from an operational perspective and a financial perspective.
“As markets come back, they’re going to come back in a ‘bubbly’ way – region by region, market by market and route by route,” Evans is predicting.
“Airlines are going to be focused on driving for cash and as airlines have taken on more debt, that is going to drive discipline into competitive behaviour.”