Jetstar will begin three long-haul routes from Brisbane to Japan and South Korea. It will be the first time the leisure carrier has served the countries non-stop from the Queensland capital. Alas, it means Gold Coast loses its Tokyo route. It comes as Brisbane welcomed its first Vietnam service by Vietjet on June 16th while gearing up to see United Airlines from Los Angeles in December.
Jetstar’s new Brisbane routes
Using the Jetstar’s 335-seat Boeing 787-8s, the three routes are as follows:
| Brisbane to… | Start date (from Australia) | Flights | Schedule out | Schedule back | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Osaka Kansai | February 2nd, 2024 | Four weekly | JQ23, 11:45-19:45 | JQ24, 21:45-07:25+1 | |
| Tokyo Narita | October 31st, 2023 | Five weekly to daily* | JQ9, 10:40-18:40 | JQ10, 21:00-06:35+1 | |
| Seoul Incheon | February 1st, 2024 | Three weekly | JQ53, 14:45-23:15 | JQ54, 00:50-11:00 | |
| * Daily from December 3rd |
Inbound tourists will be an important source of demand for all three routes. In 2019, Queensland welcomed approximately 300,000 Japanese and South Koreans. Japan is now the fourth most-visited country for Australians, including those of Japanese heritage, while Seoul Korea is growing in popularity.
Second carrier to Tokyo, Seoul
Jetstar will be the second carrier to Tokyo, joining a three weekly service by parent Qantas, which also rises to daily in the peak season. There is no suggestion that Qantas will give up the route in favor of lower-cost Jetstar.
According to Cirium data, the 4,409 miles (7,096 km) between Brisbane and Osaka has not had non-stop flights since 2004, if ever. However, Jetstar continues to operate from Cairns, in tropical Far North Queensland, to Osaka.
Still, Brisbane-Osaka is a popular market. Booking data shows that it had around 40,000 indirect point-to-point passengers in 2019. Approximately three-quarters of passengers transited in Asia, particularly in Singapore and Taipei.
Jetstar will be the first Australian carrier to operate Brisbane-Seoul since Qantas had a handful of seasonal flights in 2005/2006. It joins Korean Air, which is due to have a daily A330-200 service when Jetstar begins in February.
Jetstar’s also increases other routes
From February 1st, the leisure carrier will fly 10 weekly between Brisbane and the ever-popular Denpasar Bali, up from daily. First launched in 2014, the 2,789-mile (4,489 km) Jetstar route has never had more than a daily service before.
While the 787-8 will continue to operate seven days a week, the additional services will be by the 232-seat A321LR, of which Jetstar has seven when writing on June 19th. As the 787 cruises faster, it has a 5h 55m block time to Indonesia against 6h 20m for the Airbus narrowbody.
While the 787 has a lower seat-mile cost, the A321LR will have a notably lower trip cost and require far fewer passengers to break even.
The A321LR to Auckland too
Jetstar also plans to use the LR between Brisbane and Auckland, a route launched by the carrier on March 27th, 2023. While it currently runs four weekly, it will become daily from October 2019, with the LR beginning on February 1st.
It will replace the A320ceo, providing 52 additional seats per departure, better fuel consumption, a quieter experience, more storage space, and so on.
The LR is timed to operate Brisbane-Bali-Brisbane-Auckland-Brisbane in 24 hours. It will be interesting to see what it operates on the days it does not fly to Indonesia.
Source SimpleFlying.com