Jetstar struggled to operate all of its flights last month with only five of its 11 aircraft in operation.
Data released on Monday revealed that 626 flights – or 9.5 per cent of services – were axed by the Qantas-owned airline in September. Jetstar’s performance was at its worst on its more popular routes, including Brisbane to Sydney, where 21 per cent of flights were cancelled.
17.6 per cent of Jetstar’s Brisbane to Melbourne flights got the axe, according to the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics (BITRE) data, along with 17.1 per cent of Melbourne to Sydney services in September. Comparatively, Qantas only cancelled 2.5 per cent of its flights last month.
40 per cent of Jetstar’s flights were delayed, per BITRE, which ranked higher than Qantas (35%) or Virgin Australia (33%).
A Jetstar spokesman said it was “well documented that September was a particularly challenging month for operations.”
“A number of unexpected engineering issues impacted our fleet causing significant disruptions across our network and we sincerely apologise to customers whose holidays were impacted.
“Our teams have been working hard to get all the aircraft back in the air and we’re pleased that our operations have stabilised significantly in October, with further improvements expected in November.”
The airline told The Australian that cancellation rates and on-time performances have already significantly improved in October, with 60 per cent of flights leaving on time and less than five per cent of services axed.
“We know we have more work to do,” the spokesman said.
“Qantas will invest a further $200m across Qantas and Jetstar to provide extra resourcing to support our operational performance, including having a number of Jetstar aircraft and crew on standby.”
The BITRE does not account for international performance but figures provided by British aviation analytics firm OAG showed Jetstar had an overall cancellation rate of 12.5 per cent in September.
The budget airline recorded high cancellation rates to Bali in late August and early September. Late last month, more passengers were impacted travelling to Hawaii, Singapore and Indonesia.
This news comes as Jetstar undergoes management change, with CEO Gareth Evans exiting the airline by the end of the year and Qantas CCO Stephanie Tully to succeed Evans.
