Jetstar CEO Apologizes To Everyone The Airline Has Let Down
Summary
- Jetstar’s CEO, Stephanie Tully, has apologized for recent delays and cancellations and is committed to improving the airline’s performance.
- The airline is returning to pre-pandemic levels and offering bargain airfares to attract passengers, claiming to have the best cancellation rate among Australian airlines in July.
- In June, Jetstar had the best on-time arrival rate among domestic carriers but ranked second to last in on-time departures.
With low-cost carriers usually bearing the brunt of stigma around cancellations and delays, Jetstar is no different, with many travelers stuck in the mindset that low-cost means you’ll arrive late or not at all. However, that may not always be true, and Jetstar’s CEO is trying to change that.
Stephanie Tully, CEO of Jetstar Airways Group, has recently apologized to its customers as she promised to reduce the number of delays and cancellations seen by the airline and has encouraged travelers to give Jetstar ‘a go.’
Photo: Airbus
Back to pre-pandemic levels
The Aussie carrier is returning to its pre-pandemic levels, attempting to lure passengers into flights with bargain airfares across its network and reiterating the airline’s recent performance. Tully spoke with Melbourne’s radios station 3AW, and claimed:
“For July it looks like we have the best cancellations of any airline in Australia, so we have been working hard to ensure Jetstar is at its best.
“The industry was in hibernation for a few years so getting started, getting all of our people back, we had several supply chain issues with parts. So we have had to work extra hard and do extra things to make sure Jetstar is performing the way people expect.”
On-time performance is gauged if the aircraft is to depart within 15 minutes of its scheduled departure time, and cancellations can range in reason due to weather, mechanical, or other issues.
Not all bad
When comparing data for previous months with its competition on Australian soil, Jetstar is leading the pack regarding domestic carriers for June. According to Bureau of Infrastructure and Transport Research Economics (BITRE) data, Qantas’ low-cost subsidiary placed Jetstar with the best on-time arrival rate.
The domestic cancellation rate was on par with its parent company Qantas, at 3.7%. Compared to its Brisbane-based competitor, Virgin Australia, which resulted with 4.1%, other competitors in the market were Skytrans at 3.6% and Rex at 2.2%.
Photo: Qantas
For its on-time arrival performance, Jetstar operated to schedule 67% of the time in June, 2% in front of Virgin Australia. However, the top three in this field were Skytrans in first place at 83%, Rex with 72.3%, and Qantas at 70.7%. Looking at which of the Aussie airlines departed on time in June, Skytrans once again led the pack at 80.5%, followed by Rex at 75.6%, Qantas at 71.4%, Virgin Australia at 67.9%, and finally Jetstar at 66.2%, and increase of 3.8% when compared to its results in May.
An apology
As Tully continued apologizing, she reiterated that the recent subpar performance had disappointed customers. The airline will turn 20 years old next year, and in that time, it has transported over 400 million passengers across its network. Tully emphasized:
“We democratized travel. We make travel possible for everybody and we love that emotional connection to people that perhaps wouldn’t otherwise travel, so it’s time to give Jetstar a go.”
While many interuptions to airline service can be out of the carrier’s hands, it’s positive to see Jetstar owning up to its shortfalls and its encouragement to get people back in the skies since the travel boom is now in full force.
Source: News.com.au
