Jetstar CEO wants Aussies to give the budget airline ‘a go’

Jetstar’s CEO has apologised to everyone the airline has let down over its 20-year history — and wants Aussies to give the budget airline “a go”.

Jetstar CEO Stephanie Tully has issued an apology to “everyone it has let down”, pleading with Aussies to give the budget airline “a go” as she promises better on-time performance and fewer cancellations.

During a wide-ranging radio interview about the airline’s operations on Melbourne’s 3AW, Ms Tully “it’s time to give Jetstar a go”.

She claimed the airline has returned to pre-pandemic levels throughout June and July in terms of low cancellation rates, on-time performance and low airfares.

“For July it looks like we have the best cancellations of any airline in Australia so we have really been working hard to make sure Jetstar is at its best,” she told co-hosts Ross and Russel.

‘On-time’ is when aircraft are pushed back from the gate (within 15 minutes of scheduled departure time).

“Cancellations are how many flights we are having to cancel which is unavoidable in some circumstances where there is weather or other things,” Ms Tully said.

“But we obviously want to minimise those for our customers as well.”

Jetstar Group CEO Stephanie Tully apologised to ‘everyone it has let down’ over the airline’s 20-year history. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

Speaking generally about the airline’s challenges and “what went wrong”, Ms Tully explained issues surrounding the pandemic.

“The industry was in hibernation for a few years so getting started, getting all of our people back, we had a number of supply chain issues with parts,” she said.

“So we have had to work extra hard and do extra things to make sure Jetstar is performing the way people expect.”

According to Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE) figures, Jetstar achieved the highest on time arrival rate of the major domestic carriers in June, with its domestic cancellation rate dropping to 3.7 per cent and its on-time performance increasing to 66.2 per cent.

Its cancellation rate was the same as Qantas, with Virgin Australia at 4.1 per cent, Skytrans at 3.6 per cent and Rex Airlines at 2.2 per cent.

She told Melbourne 3AW radio co-hosts Ross and Russel the airline has returned to pre-pandemic levels throughout June and July in terms of low cancellation rates, online performance and low airfares.

Jetstar flights throughout June arrived on-time 67 per cent of the time, compared with Virgin Australia (65 per cent), Qantas (70.7 per cent), Rex Airlines (72.3 per cent) and Skytrans (83 per cent).

For departures, 66.2 per cent of Jetstar flights departed on-time — up 3.8 per cent compared to May — and 1.7 per cent behind Virgin on 67.9 per cent.

For Qantas it was 71.4 per cent, for Rex Airlines it was 75.6 per cent and for Skytrans it was 80.5 per cent.

Jetstar flights throughout that month arrived on-time 67.1 per cent of the time and 66.2 per cent of Jetstar flights departed on-time also departed on-time

Ms Tully said people wanting to go on holiday after Covid lockdowns had created unprecedented levels of demand for flights.

“That supply and demand means you’ve see higher prices, particularly internationally, but that is starting to moderate as capacity comes back,” she said.

“And that’s the role Jetstar plays in Australia, we’re always going to be the fares, price leader.

“In times of pressure, Jetstar is where Australians turn for low fares and we love them coming to us.”

‘We apologise to everyone we’ve let down’

When the co-hosts asked if customers who bought cheap seats could expect their flights to leave on time, Ms Tully said: “They’re going to leave on-time.”

“And we apologise to everyone we’ve let down over our 20-year history,” she told the radio hosts.

“But we want everyone to give Jetstar a go. I think Jetstar, we turn 20 next year, we’ve flown 400 million people since our inception and we play a unique role in Australia.

“We democratised travel. We make travel possible for everybody and we love that emotional connection to people that perhaps wouldn’t otherwise travel, so it’s time to give Jetstar a go.”

Ms Tully said ‘it’s time to give Jetstar a go’. Picture: NCA NewsWire/Tertius Pickard

‘Turning a corner’

Jetstar’s chief operations officer, Matthew Franzi, said its “operations are turning a corner” with “significant improvements” in punctuality and reliability, but noted “the work is not over yet as we continue to invest in new aircraft and hire more people”.

“While no airline can guarantee there won’t ever be disruptions due to things like weather or engineering issues, we’re now much better placed to get customers on their way if things don’t go to plan,” Mr Franzi added.

On August 1, Jetstar revealed it received its ninth A3121neo LR aircraft with the airline to have 18 of the new planes by the end of 2024.

“A further five LRs and 15 A321neo XLR (extra-long range) aircraft will enter the fleet by 2029,” it revealed in a statement.

The new aircraft, which burn up to 20 per cent less fuel than Jetstar’s earlier A321, means the network would be adjusted to accommodate more flights out of Melbourne, Ms Tully said.

Meanwhile, the airline has announced seven new international routes in the past year including Sydney to Seoul, Brisbane to Auckland and Melbourne to Fiji.

Ms Tully first joined Qantas in 2004 where she went on to become its Group Executive and chief custom officer before being announced as Jetstar CEO in September last year.