JetStar's 787-8 a Lemon

[cycler49]

I have used business class on JetStar's flights from Melbourne to Asia more than once with some connecting flights on 3K (JetStar Asia). Using JetStar international out of Melbourne avoids transferring via Sydney (e.g. to Bangkok) plus the earning of quality Qantas status credits.

3K flights are well run and always on time. Cannot heap the same praise on JetStar Australia and their use of Dreamliner 787-8's. In my view the 787-8's are a big "dud" - OR - JetStar Australia has a cultural/engineering maintenance issue. Never had a JetStar international flight from/to Australia that has achieved the "contracted" time to depart or arrive. The most recent example is a MEL to SIN and SIN to MEL flight in September. Booked a couple months ago. The out leg to SIN was cancelled due to the scheduled 787-8 stuck in Bangkok for engineering reasons. The return SIN to MEL leg was five (5) hours late for unspecified engineering issues as customers were stuck in the departure gate area with limited announcements about if and when we would fly.

Earlier this year, a friend was stuck in Bangkok for 2 nights as a 787-8 couldn't fly. Waiting for parts to arrive coupled with the crew quickly running out of time allowed to be on duty to fly the aircraft.

YES - sh-t happens, but I am yet to strike an airline that when things go wrong that have a "plan B" and an associated communications plan to keep their customers informed.

 

[jb747]

Rumours may be correct but it is a little confusing, as has'nt JQ always in recent years been claimed to be solidly profitable? But we do not know how the QF group allocates its overheads.

JQ narrow body, and short haul, has been a good investment. Not the longer haul wide body.

 

[dajop]

JQ narrow body, and short haul, has been a good investment. Not the longer haul wide body.

Might depend on route. But you got to think they are doing OK if outbound and return midweek outside school holidays MEL-DPS return no luggage no catering is $810 vs QF MEL-SIN return $850 same dates. Presumably though they’ve sold a stack of fares lower than that at some point which are probably loss making.

 

[Quickstatus]

QFi has the lowest operating margin (3.8%) and EBIT ($285m) of the QF group. JQd+i is much better in operating margin ($370m) and EBIT (9.3%) than QFi, and they don’t have much of the high margin corporates that QFi can muster. For accounting purposes JQ is not split into the JQd and JQi units but at a combined operating margin of 9.3% seems to be doing well. It is quite possible that JQi is in the red but this is invisible with the current way it is reported in the annual reports.

Some say the public accounts are tweaked in such a way to make the flagship QFi look worse in order be a Sword of Damocles hanging over the Unions but I have no actual info about that

Friends had a recent holiday in HNL. 11 of them including 5 kids. All up they paid $6000 return on JQi. They only ever go when the specials are released. I suspect the ridiculous prices outweigh any negatives.

 

[moa999]

Qantas only reports Jetstar Group which is predominantly the narrowbody domestic operations. It doesn't breakout international, NZ or NZ prop (being closed) operations.

That said pretty sure AJ and the Board knows how hard it is to make money in JQi. They haven't added an aircraft since 2015, and have continually flipped routes

Meanwhile Scoot and AirAsiaX (also not profitable) have been growing like crazy by comparison.

Scoot/Tiger (just Singapore) now has 18 787s, 28 320s.
AirAsiaX/AirAsia (just Malaysian base) has 24 330s, 95 320s

International is always going to be hard when you are competing against airlines based in countries with lower wages and often owners (typically governments) who don't care about profit