‘Vegas, Cape Town not out of reach’: Jetstar CEO’s huge plans

As more Aussies rely on cheap fares for travel during these tough economic times, Jetstar boss Stephanie Tully reveals big plans for the budget airline.

Australians wanting cheaper overseas travel could have the option to fly as far as the United States and Africa with Aussie budget airline Jetstar as soon as next year.

Jetstar chief executive Stephanie Tully has spoken exclusively to news.com.au about her plans to extend the airline’s reach.

Jetstar grew its international network by 34 per cent in the last financial year, and Ms Tully says “another big year of growth” is expected in 2024-25.

A major revamp of the Boeing 787 international fleet, which kicks off next year, is going to help make it happen.

“Places like Vegas and Cape Town are not out of reach,” Ms Tully said, quickly adding this was not confirmation these exact routes were locked in.

India and Sri Lanka have also been mentioned previously.

Announcements on new international routes will be made “really soon,” she said.

The Boeing 787s currently fly to destinations like Bali, Honolulu, Tokyo, Osaka, Seoul, Ho Chi Minh City and Bangkok.

It only takes about a month to reconfigure each aircraft during scheduled maintenance. There will be more business class seats (44 instead of 21), the addition of in-flight Wi-Fi for the first time, and perhaps most significantly, lie-flat crew rest areas.

“That means crew can operate longer distances,” the airline chief explained.

Jetstar’s Boeing 787s will undergo a major makeover, which will allow them to fly distances as far as America and Africa. Picture: Jetstar

There is also the new Airbus A321neo XLR (xtra long range) and more Airbus A321neo LR (long range) aircraft on the way, which will open up new international destinations a bit closer to home.

“The new narrowbodies – what we call the NEOs or XRLs – coming soon, they can go to other places in Southeast Asia,” she said.

“We launched [Sydney]-Rarotonga and Melbourne-Fiji in the last year where you can actually take the smaller aircraft further, which opens up more point to point destinations, which means there will be new places to go in that sort of six to eight hours flying range as well.”

Jetstar CEO Stephanie Tully sat down with news.com.au at the Jetstar Operations Control Centre in Melbourne. Picture: news.com.au

Aussies’ obsession with Bali and Japan

Bali in Indonesia and Japan are Jetstar’s two biggest international markets.

“They are massive for us and there’s no sign of that interest waning at all,” Ms Tully said.

“If we could fly more to Bali, we would.” The airline is restricted by traffic rights.

As for Japan, Ms Tully is keen to expand the destinations Jetstar can fly direct to.

“I’d love to be able to fly directly into Sapporo rather than go via Narita,” she said.

Sapporo, the capital of Hokkaido, is known for its skiing, a big drawcard for Aussies.

Ms Tully said the airline is expecting a “really busy” period of Aussies flying to Japan between December and March for winter.

Sapporo, Japan is a destination Ms Tully would like Jetstar to fly direct to from Australia. Picture: istock

She also flagged South Korea as a market with potential for growth, and said Rarotonga in the Cook Islands was “doing incredibly well” after Jetstar launched direct flights there just last year, proving there is demand for new Pacific destinations.

“Fiji has always done well but Rarotonga is a bit of a new destination for people to try,” Ms Tully said.

“It feels like you’re stepping back in time … which is really beautiful.”

Jetstar launched direct flights to Rarotonga, Cook Islands last year. Picture: Getty Images

Vanuatu and other new routes

Jetstar will launch a Sydney-Vanuatu route in December, following Air Vanuatu’s collapse in May.

But Ms Tully said Jetstar and Qantas had already been looking at flying to the destination before the Vanuatu government-owned airline was placed into voluntary liquidation.

Ms Tully, who is excited to visit the nation for the first time, said they predict strong demand like they have seen with Rarotonga.

Other new routes which have been confirmed include Brisbane-Bangkok, Cairns-Maroochydore and Auckland-Maroochydore launching in December, as well as Christchurch-Cairns in April next year.

Jetstar’s ‘best ever’ year

Jetstar has managed to stay standing for 20 years as other low-cost airlines in Australia have tried and failed.

Ms Tully says the key to success has been staying true to the original model: “We have to keep our business a really low cost business to enable low fares.”

Low fares have been particularly sought-after as Aussies tighten the purse strings amid increased cost of living.

“We had 12 million fares last year under $100, that’s a lot of customers flying for under $100,” she said.

“You can’t eat dinner out at a restaurant for under $100 really. It’s fantastic to have options for customers that they can still travel even if they’re feeling economic pressure.”

Cost of living pressures have increased demand for cheap flights. Picture: Richard Walker

The Qantas Group posted an underlying profit before tax of $2.08 billion for 2023-24, down 16 per cent on the year prior.

Qantas’ international business copped a hit, generating $556 million in earnings down from $906 million, and Qantas’ domestic business generated $1.06 billion, down from $1.27 billion.

However, the Jetstar Group had its best ever year – generating $497 million in earnings, up 23 per cent from $404 million.

“We had our best ever financial result but also our best ever customer result and our best ever people engagement result, so we hit good results across the board,” Ms Tully said.

When it comes to improving the airline’s reputation, Ms Tully said it can be a long process as people who travel on low-cost leisure airlines tend to fly less often.

“There may have been times Jetstar has let people down and we’re always sorry for that and we have got better, so I think it’s going to take time to change the perception of those who haven’t flown us more recently,” she said.