Jetstar has announced plans to increase its focus on South Australia and reorganise its operations in the Northern Territory.
The airline intends to base four Airbus A320 aircraft in Adelaide from the end of March, and will establish a new cabin crew and pilot base in the city.
Jetstar said in a statement that it would be seeking to recruit 40 pilots, 70 cabin crew team members and a dozen ground staff. The airline added that some of the positions will be filled by staff transferred from other bases.
Three of the four aircraft that will be based at Adelaide are set to be relocated from Darwin, with another A320 coming from Melbourne.
“This month, Jetstar will begin direct services from Adelaide to Auckland and non-stop flights from Adelaide to Bali,” said Jetstar Australia and New Zealand chief executive officer David Hall.
“Basing four aircraft at Adelaide will allow us to expand our schedule and add one extra daily flight between Melbourne and Adelaide and Sydney and Adelaide respectively. Our presence in Adelaide has more than doubled in the past four years and we believe the establishment of a dedicated crew base will provide a solid foundation to continue to grow low fares from the capital of South Australia.”
Changes to Jetstar operations in the Northern Territory will mean an overall reduction in the number of weekly departures out of Darwin from 54 to 49. “The decision to relocate flying is in response to increased capacity and competition, particularly on international routes from foreign carriers,” Jetstar said in a separate statement.
“Jetstar has been clear in the past that our flying from Darwin is among the most marginal on the network. These changes will ensure we maintain the highest productivity of our aircraft and reflect our strategy to deploy aircraft on routes to meet market demand.”
