LONDON – Australian carrier, Jetstar, has revealed its new livery on its upcoming Airbus A321LR (Long Range) aircraft.

The Striking Livery Refresh…

This is Jetstar’s first major livery refresh since the airline began operations back on the day of May 25, 2004, exactly 18 years at the time of writing this article.

When the carrier took the delivery of their first Airbus A320 aircraft back in 2004, their livery at the time was similar to their present livery, however, the Jetstar titles have been increased in size covering the front section of the fuselage as well as the silver becoming a lot more metallic over the years.

Jetstar Group currently has orders for 75 Airbus NEO aircraft, this currently will consist of 45 Airbus A320neos, 28 Airbus A321LRs, and 36 Airbus A321XLRs (Extra Long Range).

Their new livery features a completely-new unique orange tail and underbelly, with freshly branded wingtips.

The new livery uses a new technology of a two-coat ‘basecoat-clearcoat’ system that lasts much longer than previous painting technologies, as well as reducing the weight of the paint by up to 30%.

On top of the weight saving, the new paint helps to save 108 tonnes of fuel across their whole A321LR fleet per year, equivalating to nearly 350 tonnes of CO2 emissions being saved as well.

Commenting on the new livery, Jetstar Group’s Chief Executive Officer, Gareth Evans, has said, “Today we’re excited to not only be celebrating our 18th birthday but also unveiling a new look for our incoming fleet of NEOs, representing a new era of flying for Jetstar.”

“These modern aircraft are world-class in terms of performance, comfort, and sustainability, ensuring our customers will enjoy a new range of benefits on board.”

“With the NEOs arriving in our 18th birthday year, their arrival symbolizes how we’ve grown to become the largest and most successful low-cost carrier in the Asia Pacific region.”

“In addition to flying on our most popular domestic routes, the long-range NEOs open up new international opportunities, providing us with an opportunity to expand our international network and deliver on our promise to offer more low fares to more destinations.”

As well as a new modern fleet of Airbus NEO aircraft and a fresh lick of paint, their NEOs will also offer wider seats, flip-down smartphone and tablet cradles as well as in-seat USB power.

On top of this, the aircraft will feature extra-large overhead bins with 40% more storage space and up to 50% quieter engines. All for better passenger comfort and reduced noise pollution.

In terms of expected deliveries of their new aircraft, Jetstar is expecting that eight A321LRs will be delivered between August 2022 to May 2023, with all 18 expected to be delivered by mid-2024 for their Australian mainline. Following this, a further 20 A321XLRs will arrive between 2024 and 2029.

A Brief Jetstar History…

The airline first began back in the early 2000s as an Australian and New Zealand carrier, however, over the years the Jetstar group began to expand into Asia.

Towards the end of 2004, Jetstar created its first subsidiary, known as, Jetstar Asia Airways, which is primarily based out of Singapore’s Changi Airport (SIA), which currently has eight Airbus A320ceo (Current Engine Option) in its fleet and serves around 25 destinations.

A mere eight months later in 2005, Jetstar Asia Airways, had acquired the then Singapore-based LCC (low-cost carrier) Valuair on July 24 and was retained under Jetstar Asia Airways primarily serving cities throughout Indonesia until late 2014.

As we roll on a few more years, Qantas Group, a major stakeholder of Jetstar, had decided to place an 18% stake in the Vietnamese-based LCC, Pacific Airlines Joint Stock Aviation Company in early 2008, before being renamed Jetstar Pacific in May 2008, then again rebranding back as Pacific Airlines in July 2020 and being passed into primary ownership of Vietnam Airlines.

The carrier still operates some ex-Jetstar Pacific Airbus A320s in its fleet.

Continuing through the years, Jetstar’s newest subsidiary joins the club in 2011, known as Jetstar Japan. The carrier still operates 19 Airbus A320ceos to 20 destinations within the Asia-Pacific region.

They are also due to receive three Airbus A321LRs and three Airbus A321P2Fs for their Jetstar Japan Cargo arm in 2024.

However, despite much success above, Jetstar Group has struggled with one of its subsidiaries that unfortunately failed to start, Jetstar Hong Kong.

Back in 2012, Jetstar launched this subsidiary with orders for nine Airbus A320 aircraft, however, due to the Hong Kong Government, after three years of investigation, refusing to give their subsidiary an AOC (Air Operators Certificate) in 2015, funding was halted by their major stakeholders China Eastern Airlines and Qantas, to which the plans for the Hong Kong subsidiary had subsequently collapsed.