Purchases More A320s; Mainline Operation Moves 767 To Domestic Routes

Australian carrier Qantas -- involved in a full blown war between its low cost JetStar subsidiary, and rivals Virgin Blue and newcomer Tiger Airways -- made a move Thursday to assert dominance in the segment.

The airline committed to buy an additional nine Airbus A320s at a cost of over $600 million US, on top of its December order for four Airbus A330-200s and eight Airbus A380 superjumbos. Qantas CEO Geoff Dixon said the deliveries, along with some further shuffling of its mainline fleet, will boost both Jetstar's position against its rivals, as well as Qantas' domestic operations.

"Four Boeing 767-300 aircraft from our international fleet that were due to be sold from mid-2007 will now be transferred to domestic operations," said Dixon (shown below). "The additional capacity for both Jetstar and Qantas, along with previously announced plans for QantasLink, should enable the Qantas Group to maintain its 65 per cent share of the Australian domestic market."

Dixon has also asserted the additional aircraft will allow Jetstar to grow some of its most popular leisure routes, including Cairns, Gold Coast, Perth and the Northern Territory.

"Jetstar will also use the new aircraft to look at new destinations within Australia," said Dixon.

The purchase comes as a controversial takeover bid for Qantas is due to close next month. Reuters reports the takeover bid by Airline Partners Australia Consortium remains uncertain, after a key shareholder said last week it would vote against the offer.

The consortium is now talking to banks financing the deal, about whether it can drop a 90-percent acceptance condition on the A$5.45-per-share bid.

FMI: www.qantas.com, www.jetstar.com, www.airbus.com