Jetstar Airways

Jetstar Airways Pty Ltd, trading as Jetstar, is an Australian low-cost airline (self-described as "value based") headquartered in Melbourne, Australia. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Qantas, created in response to the threat posed by low-cost airline Virgin Blue. Jetstar is part of Qantas' two brand strategy of having Qantas Airways for the premium full-service market and Jetstar for the low-cost market. Jetstar carries 8.5% of all passengers travelling in and out of Australia.

The airline operates an extensive domestic network as well as regional and international services from its main base at Melbourne Airport, using a mixed fleet of the Airbus A320 family and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Like its Qantas parent, Jetstar competes with Virgin Australia and its fully owned low-cost subsidiary Tigerair Australia.

Qantas through the Jetstar Group has stakes in sister airlines Jetstar Asia Airways, Jetstar Pacific Airlines and Jetstar Japan.

History

The airline was established by Qantas in 2003 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. Domestic passenger services began on 25 May 2004, soon after the sale of tickets for her inaugural flight in February 2004. International services to Christchurch, New Zealand, commenced on 1 December 2005. Although owned by Qantas, its management operates largely independent of Qantas through the company formerly known as Impulse Airlines.

Jetstar Asia Airways

Jetstar Asia Airways Pte Ltd (operating as Jetstar Asia) is a low-cost airline based in Singapore. It is one of the Asian offshoots of parent Jetstar Airways, the low-cost subsidiary airline of Australia's Qantas airline. It operates services to regional destinations in Southeast Asia to countries such as Burma, Cambodia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam. It also flies to regional routes in East Asia such as Japan, Taiwan and Hong Kong. It is the main feeder airline for its parent company Jetstar Airways for budget passengers flying to Australia. Its sister airlines include Jetstar in New Zealand, Jetstar Pacific and Jetstar Japan.

Background

Jetstar Asia was launched in 2004 as a partnership between Qantas, holding a 49% stake in the airline, Singaporean businessmen Tony Chew (22%) and FF Wong (10%) and the Singapore government's investment company, Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited (19%). It received its Air Operator's Certificate from the Singapore government on 19 November 2004.

Boeing 787 Dreamliner

The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a long-range, mid-size wide-body, twin-engine jet airliner developed by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Its variants seat 242 to 335 passengers in typical 3-class seating configurations. It is Boeing's most fuel-efficient airliner and is a pioneering airliner with the use of composite materials as the primary material in the construction of its airframe. The 787 was designed to be 20% more fuel efficient than the Boeing 767, which it was intended to replace. The 787 Dreamliner's distinguishing features include mostly electrical flight systems, swept wingtips, and noise-reducing chevrons on its engine nacelles. It shares a common type rating with the larger Boeing 777 to allow qualified pilots to operate both models.

The aircraft's initial designation was the 7E7, prior to its renaming in January 2005. The first 787 was unveiled in a roll-out ceremony on July 8, 2007 at Boeing's Everett factory. Development and production of the 787 has involved a large-scale collaboration with numerous suppliers worldwide. Final assembly takes place at the Boeing Everett Factory in Everett, Washington, and at the Boeing South Carolina factory in North Charleston, South Carolina. Originally planned to enter service in May 2008, the project experienced multiple delays. The airliner's maiden flight took place on December 15, 2009, and completed flight testing in mid-2011.

Airbus A320 family

The Airbus A320 family consists of short- to medium-range, narrow-body, commercial passenger twin-engine jet airliners manufactured by Airbus. The family includes the A318, A319, A320 and A321, as well as the ACJ business jet. The A320s are also named A320ceo (current engine option) after the introduction of the A320neo. Final assembly of the family takes place in Toulouse, France, and Hamburg, Germany; a plant in Tianjin, China, has also been producing aircraft for Chinese airlines since 2009. Construction of a new production facility in Mobile, Alabama began in 2013. The aircraft family can accommodate up to 220 passengers and has a range of 3,100 to 12,000 km (1,700 to 6,500 nmi), depending on model.

The first member of the A320 family—the A320—was launched in March 1984, first flew on 22 February 1987, and was first delivered in March 1988. The family was soon extended to include the A321 (first delivered 1994), the A319 (1996), and the A318 (2003). The A320 family pioneered the use of digital fly-by-wire flight control systems, as well as side-stick controls, in commercial aircraft. There has been a continuous improvement process since introduction.

Business class

Business class is a travel class available on many commercial airlines and rail lines, known by brand names which vary by airline or rail company. In the airline industry, it was originally intended as an intermediate level of service between economy class and first class, but many airlines now offer business class as the highest level of service, having eliminated first class seating. Business class is distinguished from other travel classes by the quality of seating, food, drinks, ground service and other amenities. Full business class is usually denoted 'J' or 'C' with schedule flexibility, but can be many other letters depending on circumstances.

Airlines

History

Airlines began separating full-fare and discounted economy class passengers in the late 1970s. In 1976, KLM introduced a Full Fare Facilities (FFF) service for its full fare economy class passengers, which allowed them to sit at the front of the economy cabin immediately behind first class, and this concept was quickly copied by several other airlines including Air Canada. Both United Airlines and Trans World Airlines experimented with a similar three-class concept in 1978, but abandoned it due to negative reactions from discount economy class travelers who felt that amenities were being taken away from them. United also cited the difficulty of tracking which passengers should be seated in which section of the economy cabin on connecting flights.American Airlines also began separating full-fare economy passengers from discounted economy passengers in 1978, and offered open middle seats for full-fare passengers.