Jetstar Airways

History

Jetstar Airways was established by Qantas in 2003 as a low-cost subsidiary to compete with the newly launched Virgin Blue, and began flying on 25 May 2004 out of Melbourne. It expanded rapidly through the 2000s, taking over most of Qantas's short-haul leisure flying and later spawning sister low-cost carriers in Asia, including Jetstar Asia (Singapore, 2004), Jetstar Pacific/Pacific Airlines (Vietnam) and Jetstar Japan. Jetstar became the dominant low-cost brand in the Australia-New Zealand market and, alongside Qantas mainline, forms one of the two core airline brands of Qantas Group.

Current Operations

Jetstar Airways operates a fleet of roughly 100 aircraft combining Airbus A320-family narrowbodies (for domestic and short-haul international routes) with Boeing 787-8 Dreamliners (for long-haul leisure routes to Asia and the United States), with further A321LR/A320neo-family deliveries scheduled through 2027 as part of a Qantas Group fleet renewal program. Its main base is Melbourne Airport, with further operating bases at Sydney, Brisbane, Gold Coast, Cairns, Perth and Auckland, from which it serves an extensive Australian domestic network plus trans-Tasman and Asia-Pacific leisure routes (Bali/Denpasar, Thailand, Japan, Vietnam and others). Jetstar is not itself a member of any global alliance, but as a wholly owned Qantas Group subsidiary it codeshares and interlines with Qantas and other oneworld carriers. Following the July 2025 closure of its Singapore-based affiliate Jetstar Asia, the Jetstar brand's international short-haul flying in Asia is increasingly concentrated in the Australia/New Zealand-based mainline operation.

Last verified 2026-09-02· Source: airline public disclosures, company press releases & aviation-industry reporting.

Serves These Profiled Airports11

Sample Routes4