Foundation and early years
The airline was established by Qantas in 2001 as a low-cost domestic subsidiary. Qantas had previously acquired Impulse Airlines on 20 November 2001 and operated it under the QantasLink brand, but following the decision to launch a low-cost carrier, re-launched the airline under the Jetstar brand.[10] Domestic passenger services began on 25 May 2004, soon after the sale of tickets for its inaugural flight in February 2004. International services to Christchurch, New Zealand commenced on 1 December 2005.[11] Although owned by Qantas, its management operates largely independently of Qantas through the company formerly known as Impulse Airlines.
Originally the airline was headquartered on the grounds of Avalon Airport near Melbourne, and started flying out of Avalon Airport in mid 2004,[12][13][14] but later relocated its registered office to the suburb of Collingwood, Victoria, near the Melbourne central business district.[15][16]
Reserved seating is provided on all routes, and on 4 October 2006, Jetstar became the first Australian airline to allow customers to select their seat upon booking.[17] Sister airline Jetstar Asia Airways took off from its Singapore hub to Hong Kong on 13 December 2004, Qantas' entry into the Asian low-cost market to compete with Singapore Airlines on its home ground. Qantas had a 49% stake in Jetstar Asia's ownership. Jetstar Asia closed in 2025.
On 1 December 2005, Jetstar commenced operations from Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and the Gold Coast to Christchurch in New Zealand. On 7 December 2005, it was announced that Jetstar would establish the world's first global low-cost airline. At the end of 2005, it was announced that Jetstar would fly to Perth from Avalon Airport.
In July 2006, Jetstar and Jetstar Asia were brought together under the "Jetstar" brand.[18] Online bookings for both carriers were integrated into Jetstar.com.
In July 2007, Qantas acquired an 18% stake in Vietnam's Pacific Airlines, to increase to 30% by 2010. The airline was relaunched on 23 May 2008 as Jetstar Pacific.
In 2008, Jetstar signed an agreement with the Northern Territory Government to make Darwin International Airport an international hub with seven aircraft based there, with A$8 million from the Northern Territory Government.[19] The Darwin base was closed in May 2014, with aircraft repositioned to Adelaide. Flights to Tokyo via Manila were discontinued, and services to Singapore were henceforth operated by Jetstar Asia with Singapore-based aircraft.[20] The base closure was attributed to cost-cutting by parent Qantas and increased competition from the re-introduction Asian carriers' flights into Darwin Airport.
In 2009, Jetstar commenced daily Airbus A320 direct services from Auckland to the Gold Coast and Sydney, and domestic New Zealand flights between Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, and Queenstown, followed by services to Dunedin. Jetstar replaced Qantas subsidiary Jetconnect on these routes.
Developments since 2010
From 1 February 2011, Jetstar started its co-operation with the oneworld alliance, allowing people booking an itinerary with a full oneworld member to include a Jetstar flight in the itinerary. However, the flight must be sold via Jetstar's corporate parent Qantas, under a QF flight number.[21]
In August 2011, Jetstar's parent Qantas announced that it would set up a new airline to be called Jetstar Japan, a joint venture of Jetstar, Japan Airlines, and Mitsubishi. The airline was expected to start operating in December 2012,[22] but then launched ahead of schedule on 3 July 2012.[23]
In March 2012, another Asian Jetstar branded airline was announced, Jetstar Hong Kong, a strategic partnership between Qantas and China Eastern Airlines
New Zealand operations
Currently, the airline operates domestic and short-haul international services to Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown, and Wellington, Dunedin and international services to Hamilton, using their fleet of Airbus A320 family aircraft.[29]
In June 2015, Jetstar announced that it would commence regional services in New Zealand, beginning in December 2015. The new services would be flown by five turboprop Bombardier Dash 8s operated by Eastern Australia Airlines — one of Qantas' subsidiary regional airlines — under the Jetstar brand. At least four new destinations would be served initially, with Hamilton, Rotorua, New Plymouth, Napier, Palmerston North, Nelson and Invercargill named as the cities under consideration.[30] On 31 August 2015, Jetstar announced it had selected the first four regional centres it would serve at the commencement of operations on 1 December; these were Napier, Nelson, New Plymouth, and Palmerston North. All four cities had services to Auckland; Nelson also had services to Wellington.[31]
