On of the main options for travelers from Asia to Australia and viceversa is Jetstar Airways. The airline has grown significantly over the past 2 decades and is now a major player in the budget market many routes connecting Australia to Asia. In this post we’ll take a closer look at the composition of the Jetstar fleet.
In this post:
The Jetstar Fleet in 2026
The original JQ fleet is also the largest of the pack and the only one that features wide body aircraft. This division operates flights to destinations in southeast Asia along with South Korea and Japan from Australia. Jetstar Australia operates:
| Manufacturer | Aircraft Type | Units |
|---|---|---|
| Airbus | A320-200 | 72 |
| Airbus | A321neo | 28 |
| Boeing | 787-8 | 11 |
| Airbus | A321-200 | 6 |
| Airbus | A320neo | 5 |
The ceo versions of the Airbus A320 and A321 are mainly used for short and medium haul flights. On the other hand the A321neo, of which Jetstar is receiving more of, are also used for long range flights. Both neo and ceo A320s feature a 1 class configuration with all economy class seats.
The airline has gradually increased the number of Airbus A321neo in its fleet and has now started also taking delivery of the smaller A320neo jets. These new planes will help the airline increase its operating margins and, hopefully, its profitability too.
The only wide body plane of the fleet, the Boeing 787-8, also offers a different class of travel. The Jetstar fleet of Boeing 787-8s is configured in a streamlined 2 class layout with:
| Class | Number of Seats | Layout |
|---|---|---|
| Business Class | 21 | 2-3-2 |
| Economy Class | 314 | 3-3-3 |
You’ll see the 787s deployed on longer sectors such as Sydney to Seoul or Tokyo which it cannot operate using its narrow body aircraft.
Jetstar’s Origins – Qantas Fighting Back The Low Cost Threat
Jetstar started operations in 2004 as a response from the Qantas group to Virgin Blue Airlines. Virgin had entered the market with its budget carrier in 2000 threatening Qantas’ dominant position. Suddenly Qantas found itself, as a premium full service carrier having to fight against a competitor capable of significantly undercutting it on fare prices.
Virgin Blue’s founding triggered Qantas’ response, which was to launch its own low-cost subsidiary. That is where Jetstar has its origins. It allowed Qantas not to get mixed up in a fare war with Virgin Blue (then Virgin Australia) using its own name. It instead used a proxy which could cut down any additional service selling just the bare fare without hindering Qantas’ status as a premium carrier.
Since then the airline has expanded its network and reach across Australia, New Zealand, and Asia. It longest routes currently stretch as far as Singapore and Seoul.
Qantas then also launched two Asian subsidiaries to the airline:
- Jetstar Asia
- Jetstar Japan
Both of which no longer exist under this name and their original form. Jetstar Asia, used to be based in Singapore Changi and has shut down, while Qantas has divested from Jetstar Japan with the airline changing branding.