Jetstar Japan to first use A321neo(LR) on domestic routes

Jetstar Asia Airways (3K, Singapore Changi) has announced that it will permanently retire five of its A320-200s, thus reducing its fleet to 13 units of the type.

According to the ch-aviation fleets ownership module, Jetstar Asia Airways owns eight of its A320-200s and leases the remaining ten, including four from BOC Aviation, one each from DAE Capital, AerCap, and Macquarie AirFinance, and three from unknown lessors.

The Singaporean low-cost carrier will also reduce its headcount by 26%, letting up to 180 staff members go. A furlough affecting the majority of the employees will be extended through the end of 2020.

"Singapore and Singapore Changi Changi Airport remain a strategic footprint for Jetstar Asia and the Qantas Group, and we look forward to growing passenger numbers further through innovation and enhancing the customer experience in the future," Chief Executive Bara Pasupathi said.

The LCC announced the fleet and job cuts as a part of parent Qantas Group's post-COVID recovery strategy, which said it would be grounding up...

Qantas Group and Vietnam Airlines (VN, Hanoi) have agreed to restructure loss-making Jetstar Pacific (BL, Ho Chi Minh City) which, once completed, will see the Vietnamese low-cost carrier revert to its previous name and branding of Pacific Airlines (1990) while seeking closer commercial ties with its Vietnamese parent.

Although Qantas and Vietnam Airlines have only conceded that they will "continue to review the low-cost carrier’s structure and future shareholding arrangements", the discontinuation of the Jetstar Pacific brand has only reinforced existing speculation that Qantas Group's exit from the LCC's shareholding is now imminent given several years of protracted deep losses. Current Vietnamese records show the LCC is majority-owned by Vietnam Airlines with a 68.85% stake while Qantas Group holds its 30% stake via its Singapore-based Qantas Asia Investment Company vehicle. The remaining 1.15% is held by the Saigon Tourist Holding Company and former airline CEO Luong Hoai Nam.

"Low-cost carriers will play a certain role in supporting the return of travel as restrictions ease, and by streamlining functions, Pacific Airlines can remain...