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Qantas, Pacific in strategic partnership

Australia’s Qantas Airways and Pacific Airlines of Vietnam yesterday announced plans to develop Pacific into a low-cost airline through massive expansion during the next six years.

Under a strategic and commercial partnership agreement, the new airline will be renamed Jetstar Pacific and operate as part of the Qantas budget carrier’s brand, Qantas said in a statement.

Up to 30 Airbus A320 planes will be added to the fleet by 2014, Qantas said.

“The first A320 is proposed to enter Jetstar Pacific’s operations in August 2008, initially within Vietnam before expanding later this year into markets such as Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Cambodia,” Qantas said.

Pacific will take on its new name on May 23.

The new airline is part of Jetstar’s expansion in Asia. Jetstar began flying within Australia in 2004, and launched international long haul flights within Asia in 2006 and has a regional base in Singapore. It flies throughout Southeast Asia, Australia and Hong Kong.

Qantas hopes to extend Jetstar’s international operations to Europe and the US, but analysts say they are being hampered by delays to the delivery of Boeing’s 787 jetliners.

Qantas bought 18 percent of Pacific Airlines in July last year and under the business plan will increase its stake to 30 percent in 2010. The airline did not say how much the extra stake was expected to cost.

Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon said that by joining Jetstar, the Vietnamese carrier would help form one of the largest and fastest growing airline brands in the region.

“Jetstar Pacific will be able to access and leverage the significant expertise and resources within the Qantas Group that will help enable its planned future growth,” Dixon said.
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