Jetstar’s Alan Joyce spoke to Joanne McCulloch about wrestling with Tiger, his career highlight and plans to grow the company ten-fold in just a few years.

Star Board

  • Jetstar was created by Qantas but is managed separately and operates independently from hubs in Melbourne and Singapore.
  • he new A320 planes carry 177 passengers on flights within Australia and New Zealand and 180 passengers within Asia, and have the widest cabin of any single-aisle aircraft.
  • In late 2008 Jetstar will be the first airline in Australia to introduce the Boeing 787-8. New advancements include the largest window of any commercial wide-body aircraft complete with dimmable glass, making shades obsolete. A new air purification system will also be introduced.
  • New routes are scheduled from Cairns to Singapore, via Darwin, and from Cairns to Nagoya, Japan starting February 2008.
  • On-time monthly performance is tracked online. The highest this year was 88 per cent in January and February, while in July on-time performance averaged 82 per cent.


 

enewsletter signup:
Why subscribe?View archive

Star Treatment

Jetstar’s Alan Joyce spoke to Joanne McCulloch about wrestling with Tiger, his career highlight and plans to grow the company ten-fold in just a few years.

 

 

Star Treatment

Alan Joyce - Jet StarJetstar’s Alan Joyce spoke to Joanne McCulloch about wrestling with Tiger, his career highlight and plans to grow the company ten-fold in just a few years. Alan Joyce is a born problem solver. A science and maths graduate, he kicked off his career in the airline industry by finding solutions to problems faced by Irish carrier Aer Lingus, which ranged from overbooked flights to passenger no-shows and flight delays.

Today, as chief executive of budget airline Jetstar, this knack for getting around tough challenges is coming in handy. Joyce is having his market share threatened by a string of Asian and Pacific carriers swooping into the local market and undercutting his fares.

In the past few months alone, there have been half a dozen offshore airlines showing renewed interest in the Aussie flight market, including Tiger Airways, AirAsia X, Norfolk Air and Etihad Airways. Tiger - an offshoot of Singapore Airlines - will hit the air in October with $49.95 return fares from Melbourne to the Gold Coast. 

So how will the Dubliner overcome this threat?

“Our commitment to low fares is a great competitive weapon,” he says. “Recently we announced a low fares price guarantee. Should anyone find a cheaper fare on the same route at the same time on the same day - we will double the difference and issue a Jetstar flight voucher to this value. 

“To date, take up has been minimal – with on average four vouchers issued per day. Considering we can carry up to 24,000 passengers a day we think this is reflective of the competitive leadership we have been able to maintain.”

Joyce has made it clear that he won’t be upstaged on fares - matching almost every promotion or advantage his Singaporean competitor has handed out in recent months.  He recently announced plans to launch Jetstar flights to Singapore, servicing the lucrative Cairns and Darwin routes being targeted by Tiger; he introduced $29 fares between Melbourne and Launceston, Tasmania just hours after Tiger announced it would do the same from November 29; and he sent his website into meltdown after releasing 10,000 one-way fares for just $1 after a series of Tiger discounts were announced.

Read the full article in the current issue of Wealth Creator with Richard Branson on the front cover. Out Now!