Jetstar ups the ante by winning three coveted Skytrax awards

WORDS ANNE LOH

When the Skytrax World Airline Awards™ were announced recently, Jetstar swept the board with not one but three awards: World’s Best Low-Cost Airline, Best Low-Cost Airline – Australia/Pacific, and Best Cabin Staff – Australia/New Zealand.

A handful of international awards
within the space of just one month –
now that is something to smile about

The annual World Airline Survey undertaken by Skytrax, a UK-based research firm specialising in the air transport sector, is the largest consumer-based voting exercise of its kind. This year’s survey, conducted between August 2006 and June 2007, attracted 14 million respondents, with more than a third (five million) voting in the Low Cost Carrier category alone.

Skytrax Chief Executive Officer Edward Plaisted says: “Jetstar Airways… is clearly doing the right things to keep their customer happy. Our congratulations go to Jetstar in achieving this accolade… [in] a continuously expanding market.”

The awards are a well-deserved pat on the back for the 1,900 employees who work at Jetstar. Today, the carrier operates 24 Airbus A320s and six Airbus A330-200s in its fleet, and offers 1,100 services weekly to 22 domestic and nine international destinations. An additional nine Airbus A320 aircraft will be added from December 2007. Jetstar also plans to introduce 15 Boeing 787 Dreamliners for long-haul flights from August 2008, the first airline in Australia to operate this state-of-theart-aircraft.

To receive the World’s Best Low-Cost Airline award ahead of other, more established carriers, especially those in Europe, is “an amazing achievement” says Jetstar Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce. He proudly adds: “To be awarded as the leading low-cost airline, not only in our region but in the world, is recognition of our ability to consistently deliver on our low fares promise while providing customers with a high quality product and outstanding service.”

The awards are definitely welcome – but the hard work continues. Joyce says: “These awards demonstrate that Jetstar customers will continue to be the ultimate measure of our success. It has given us even greater incentive and determination to pursue our growth ambitions for the airline.”

Gerry Turner, Group General Manager of Operations, agrees: “In November 2006, we were the first airline in the world to launch value-based long-haul services. With the establishment of a separate team, we were able to ensure that we didn’t impact on the short-haul operations during the establishment of the long-haul routes.”

Jetstar is still busy carving out a bigger slice of the pie for its customers. Joyce points out: “In Japan, our first true inbound long-haul market, Jetstar has established a code-share agreement with Japan Airlines on its daily Sydney– Brisbane–Osaka service, and we’ve also adopted a fresh approach with the establishment of Jetstar Holidays Co Ltd.”

Kudos has to go to the onboard crew for the third award – Best Cabin Crew Australia/New Zealand – because they come up for comparison against the full-service operators as well. General Manager of Customer Service Mary-Lou Cann says: “It’s a wonderful accolade for our cabin crew. We’ve always believed that we have a great team and this award publicly acknowledges their efforts.

Cann points out that recruitment is not even half the story. “Our recruitment program takes applicants through a rigorous process of profiling, group discussion and one-on-one interviews, usually over a twoday period. Once accepted as a cabin crew member, they undergo four weeks of training and testing and must achieve pass marks at several milestones to ensure they reach the final stage, which is four sectors inflight.”

The cabin crew themselves are gratified at the win and forthright about what made the award possible. Lauren Jones, a cabin manager based in Sydney, says: “I think that being able to deliver genuine customer service comes down to two main factors – teamwork and a passion for our jobs.”

“I think that our friendly, relaxed and competent style suits our passengers,” says Tony Harris, a flight attendant based in Christchurch, New Zealand. “It helps that Jetstar is a young company – nothing is set in stone and we’re able to implement ideas to improve customer service.”

“The Skytrax acknowledgement of our cabin crew has provided us with one of the highest achievements in the airline industry,” says Cann. “We now need to ensure that we maintain that position and encourage our crew to provide even greater customer service.”

In addition to the three Skytrax awards, Jetstar was also awarded with Airline Business magazine’s award for Operational Excellence for 2007, selected by a panel of industry experts. These accolades are cementing Jetstar’s standing in the airline sector and pushing the airline to work harder in all areas to maintain its position.

“Jetstar has a ‘can-do’ culture that ensures it’s able to act quickly and implement changes for the benefit of the business and our customers,” says Alan Joyce. “We’ll still continue to focus on the fundamentals of pursuing efficiencies, cost savings, safety and customer service.”