Industry Jetstar Airways announces Airbus A321LR operations

Deliveries of the aircraft are scheduled between 2020 and 2022. The first jets should be based in Melbourne and Sydney and connect two Australian East Coast cities with Bali. The distance between Melbourne and Denpasar is around 4400 km and between Sydney and Bali around 4600km. JetStar Airways connects Bali’s Denpasar Airport with several Australian airports including Adelaide, Brisbane, Cairns, Darwin, Perth and Townsville. Once the first A321LR is in service, the Boeing 787 Dreamliner, which is currently operating all flights to Denpasar should be used to add new flights to Vietnam, China, Thailand and Hawaii to the carrier’s network.

According to the press release on its website, new jets could replace older A320 aircraft. Jetstar Airways currently operates a fleet of 53 Airbus A320, eight Airbus A321-200 and 11 Boeing 787-800. Airbus has not officially confirmed the order.

The Airbus A321Neo LR is designed as a “Middle-of-the-Market” aircraft which offers a seating capacity for up to 240 seats in a single-class configuration. With a maximum takeoff weight of 97 tons, the jet has a maximum range of 7400 kilometers. Several airlines have ordered the jet to offer long-haul operations on less frequented routes. Especially low cost carriers like Norwegian Air Shuttle or Primera Air plan to use the aircraft on transatlantic flights between Europe and the US. Jetstar Airways states, the new aircraft will have at least 40 seats more than the A320, which is equipped with 180 seats.

The low-cost carrier Jetstar Airways is a wholly owned subsidiary of Australia’s flag carrier Qantas and is headquartered in Melbourne.