Does anyone know what will happen to the 717's after they move to an all Airbus fleet? And does this mean that Jetstar is essentially taking the place of Qantas Link? David ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill Hough" <psa188@xxxxxxxx> To: <AIRLINE@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Tuesday, December 02, 2003 6:11 AM Subject: SF Gate: New Qantas discount carrier to be called Jetstar, will buy 23 Airbus A320 planes > They need to buy some Lockheed JetStars > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > This article was sent to you by someone who found it on SF Gate. > The original article can be found on SFGate.com here: > http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=3D/news/archive/2003/12/01/f= > inancial1329EST0125.DTL > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > Monday, December 1, 2003 (AP) > New Qantas discount carrier to be called Jetstar, will buy 23 Airbus A320 p= > lanes > MIKE CORDER, Associated Press Writer > > > (12-01) 10:29 PST SYDNEY, Australia (AP) -- > The national flag carrier Qantas said Monday its new no-frills domestic > carrier Jetstar will begin operations next May and is ordering 23 new > Airbus A320 planes for the discount airline. > Jetstar is aimed squarely at Richard Branson's successful no-frills > carrier Virgin Blue and its launch will likely set off a price war on > highly competitive Australian domestic routes. > Jetstar is the first major domestic airline to launch in Australia since > the collapse in 2001 of Ansett, at the time, the nation's second largest > carrier. > Branson launched Virgin Blue in 2000 and since then it has carved out a = > 30 > percent market share, eating into Qantas' domination of the domestic > aviation market. > Qantas isn't launching Jetstar "from a position of panic" or from the > competitive threat posed by Virgin Blue, chief executive Geoff Dixon said. > "I think we can get it right," he said. "We are very confident that we c= > an > start this, it won't cannibalize our business in any meaningful way, and > that the overall position of Qantas' operations will be improved by it." > Qantas had said at its annual general meeting in October that it would > launch a low-cost domestic carrier but gave no further details. > "The domestic leisure market is growing rapidly and now represents over = > 60 > percent of all passengers," Dixon said Monday. "Jetstar will concentrate > on growing this market with value fares while opening up new > destinations." > The first Airbus A320 will be delivered in June next year and Jetstar wi= > ll > progressively move to an all A320 fleet, Qantas said. Dixon said that > while the initial order is for 23 A320's, more aircraft could be acquired > as Jetstar grows. > Dixon refused to directly put a value on the Airbus contract, but told > reporters each plane has a price tag of about $50 million. > The bidding between Airbus and Boeing Co. of the United States had been > "very aggressive", Dixon said, adding Qantas was very pleased with the > price paid. > Jetstar will begin selling seats in February 2004 and start flying in Ma= > y, > using 14 Boeing 717's currently owned by Qantas subsidiary Impulse > Airlines. > > =20 > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > Copyright 2003 AP >