Jetstar Airways (JQ, Melbourne Tullamarine) is stepping up its international operations out of Brisbane International after signing a "landmark partnership" with that airport which will see it start new services to Seoul Incheon and Tokyo Narita, while scaling up frequencies on existing services to Auckland International and Denpasar. However, Gold Coast Coolangatta, 110 kilometres south, will lose its longstanding Tokyo Narita flights.
The agreement with Brisbane Airport will result in Jetstar adding 500,000 seats annually on its international flights in and out of that airport. Jetstar CEO Stephanie Tully said the airport offered an "incredible deal" that was "progressive" and allowed the airline to "keep our cost base strong."
As a result, Jetstar's existing daily roundtrips on the Brisbane - Denpasar sector will increase to ten per week from February 1, 2024, and the four times weekly Brisbane - Auckland roundtrips will increase to daily flights from October 29, 2023. Jetstar will deploy its new A321-200NX(LR)s on both routes.
On October 31, Jetstar will begin flying between Brisbane and Tokyo with five roundtrips per week, increasing to daily from December 3. On February 1, four times weekly return flights will start between Brisbane and Seoul Incheon. One day later, on February 2, Jetstar will start flying between Brisbane and Osaka Kansai, also offering four weekly roundtrips. Jetstar will use their B787-8s on these routes.
In addition to Jetstar's existing international services to Auckland and Denpasar from Brisbane, the airport is also a major domestic hub for the carrier. It flies fourteen domestic routes from the airport, presently offering over 74,000 seats per week.
Meanwhile, Brisbane's win is the Gold Coast Coolangatta's loss, with its direct service to Tokyo Narita ending on October 29. Aside from an interruption during Covid-19, Jetstar has flown this route since 2008. Gold Coast Coolangatta Airport chief commercial officer Adam Rowe told local media the decision was disappointing. "We understand that Jetstar's decision was based on operational performance rather than the popularity of the connection, as this service has been a longstanding driver of our tourism industry and always well patronised by locals," he said.
Jetstar also formerly flew to Seoul Incheon from the Gold Coast Coolangatta, but paused those flights due to Covid-19 and never resumed them, preferring to fly to South Korea directly from Sydney Kingsford Smith. In addition to being a major domestic port for the low-cost carrier, Jetstar will maintain international services from the Gold Coast Coolangatta to Auckland, Wellington, Queenstown International, and Christchurch. These flights presently provide over 14,200 seats per week.
Separately, Jetstar confirms that its eighth A321neo(LR) has arrived in Australia, with VH-OFW (msn 11380) ferrying in on June 22. It has since begun revenue flights for the airline. Jetstar says it expects to have taken delivery of eighteen A321neo(LR)s by the end of 2024.
