Free Flights for expensive muffins!
JETSTAR chief Bruce Buchanan has revealed the budget carrier is making more from in-flight service than ticket sales such as such as cups of coffee, muffins, baggage and special seat charges which works out to being around $24 a passenger.
Mr Buchanan said ancillary revenues had increased from $2-$3 per ticket to the mid-$20s in the space of a few years and were growing “very fast”. This is the second-best result in the world when benchmarked against other carriers. This money goes straight to the bottom line.
“One way to look at it is that if we didn’t have the ancillary revenue we wouldn’t be making any money. We would be losing money,” Mr Buchanan said, in a likely reference to the hurt caused by the rocketing price of jet fuel.
So what does it cost?
Jetstar passengers are charged $4 for a muffin or a small container of Pringles, and $3 for a small bag of M&M chocolates.
A can of Coke costs $3 in-flight, but costs an average of $1.20 in supermarkets in Sydney and Melbourne. Coffee will set you back around $3 - below the national average of $3.20 - and a hot chocolate $4.
Meanwhile the cost of a window seat in the exit row can cost up to $60, while in-flight entertainment can cost $15 and extras such as blankets and pillow $7.
In other developments yesterday Jetstar parent Qantas rolled out its biggest gun - the 7.5 million member Platinum Frequent Flyer program - opening a new front in its war with arch rival Virgin Australia.
The Qantas loyalty program has been revamped to give Jetstar passengers the ability to earn and burn points, a move designed to appeal to the budget-conscious suits market. A new alliance, like the one Qantas has with Woolworths, has been struck with Optus where its subscribers will be able to generate frequent flyer points.
Qantas chief Alan Joyce said the changes will give the airline a competitive edge on other carriers.
Under the changes Jetstar’s fare structure will change.
StarClass - the carrier’s equivalent of business - will be replaced with a full business product, a move that industry observers say is clearly aimed at Virgin Australia’s attempt to lure small and medium businesses.
And so the Airlines Wars continue.
NEW FEES for checking in with humans!
Beginning in November Jetstar will become the second Australian airline to charge customers to be checked-in by a person behind the counter, rather than doing so online, at self-service kiosks or using SMS boarding passes, according to a report in The Australian.
The move is part of an effort to push all customers to use electronic self-service tools and cut costs, the report said.
Passengers wishing to use staffed counters to check-in will be charged a fee expected to be between $5 and $10 beginning November 1, adding Jetstar to the list of worldwide airlines targeting staffed airport customer service desks as a means to cut costs and reduce congestion.
Tiger Australia, which charges a $20 fee for checking-in with a staff member, became the first Australian airline to introduce such a fee. Virgin Australia and Qantas, which owns Jetstar, say they have no plans to introduce such a fee.
Jetstar has also set-up an SMS check-in service that allows passengers to confirm their flight details via text message, according to the Australian Financial Review.
In what the newspaper said was a “world first”, passengers are automatically checked-in 24 hours before their flight leaves and can print out their boarding pass at the terminal simply by scanning their phone at an IBM designed departure kiosk.
