SYDNEY —
Jetstar is to launch a new Darwin-Singapore-Osaka from Nov 1. Operated by Jetstar Airways, the existing Darwin-Singapore service will continue on from Singapore to Osaka three times a week.
The Darwin-Singapore leg will be operated by an Airbus A321, while the long haul Singapore-Osaka sector will be operated by an A330 with both economy and business classes.
Jetstar Group CEO Jayne Hrdlicka said the new service would capitalize on the Jetstar Group’s growing presence in the Japanese market following the start of domestic services earlier this month.
“We always look for opportunities across the Jetstar Group to join the dots in our existing network to improve what we can offer travelers,” Hrdlicka said. “This new service means Darwin will be connected to Osaka as well as Tokyo, and by extension, to three other major Japanese cities via Jetstar Japan’s domestic network. For Australian and Singaporean tourists, this new connection will make it easier to explore everything Japan has to offer. We expect this new link to encourage more outbound tourism from Japan, particularly combined with a domestic network that makes it more affordable to reach international flights to Darwin and Singapore.”
Japan is Australia’s fifth largest source of international tourists. Arrivals grew 7.5% over the first four months of 2012 year on year. Similarly, visitors from Japan to Singapore jumped by about 20% over the same period.
The number of people visiting Japan is also climbing. Figures for the first five months of 2012 show a 45% increase in visitors from Singapore to Japan and a 15% increase from Australia.
With this new service, Jetstar will operate up to 31 international services per week to Osaka including long haul services from Cairns and the Gold Coast in Australia with Jetstar Airways and short haul international services from Singapore via Taipei and Manila with Jetstar Asia.
Jetstar Airways also operates a A330 service from Melbourne to Singapore, which can then connect to the Osaka flight.
Asia Travel Tips
