Jetstar Plants a Flag in Perth With Its Own Crew Base

The Qantas Group announced on October 16 that Jetstar is opening a crew base in Perth. It starts with 40 crew members and aims to grow to 90 local roles, giving the low-cost carrier a permanent presence in Western Australia rather than flying crews in from elsewhere.

A new emergency procedures training centre is part of the package. It is expected to train more than 1,200 staff each year, which makes the Perth investment about more than flying routes: it ties Jetstar’s safety training to the west coast as well.

Passengers will see the change in the timetable. Perth to Christchurch flights begin on October 27, adding a transtasman option from the west coast. Perth to Melbourne will climb to as many as four daily return flights over summer, giving travelers more departure times between the two cities.

Local crew bases tend to make schedules more reliable, since crews who live near the airport are easier to reposition when plans change. That is a general industry pattern rather than a Jetstar promise, so the real test will be how the summer schedule performs once it is in operation.

Sources: eTurboNews, CAPA