Qantas announces post-COVID recovery plan

Today, the Qantas Group announced a three-year plan to accelerate its recovery from the COVID crisis and create a stronger platform for future profitability, long-term shareholder value and to ultimately preserve as many jobs as possible.

For more details please read here.

As part of this strategy, Jetstar Asia has, in consultation with its shareholders and the Newstar Board, made the following difficult but necessary decisions to ensure the low-cost carrier is set up for a strong future in a very different market:

Removing five Airbus A320 aircraft from the Jetstar Asia fleet, reducing the fleet to 13 aircraft
Reducing Jetstar Asia’s workforce by up to 180 roles across all parts of the business, approximately 26 percent of the Jetstar Asia workforce
Extending the furlough period for the majority of the workforce until the end of December 2020

Quote attributed to Jetstar Asia CEO, Bara Pasupathi:

“COVID-19 has delivered the single biggest shock to the aviation industry and as a result we have had to make incredibly difficult decisions to ensure we protect the business and our people as best as possible, while securing our future success.

“There is no doubt that the travel market will look very different moving forward, so it is imperative that we change and adapt.

“Today’s decisions, while extremely difficult, ensure Jetstar Asia will be ready to recover when international travel demand resumes and allows us to remain agile while staying true to our low-cost DNA.

“Singapore and Changi Airport remain a strategic footprint for Jetstar Asia and the Qantas Group and we look forward to growing passenger numbers further through innovation and enhancing the customer experience in the future.

“I would like to thank the Singapore Government who acted swiftly and decisively to support the aviation industry through this unprecedented time. The significant budget initiatives, including the enhanced Jobs Support Scheme for the aviation sector and support for our current flying, as well as support with secondary employment opportunities for our incredible workforce, have enabled us to mitigate the situation that could otherwise have been even more confronting.

“We look forward to getting back into the sky soon and welcoming our customers back on board.”