In a Facebook post, the airline said Jetstar Asia's 3K flights will continue to operate with reduced frequency over the next 7 weeks until they are officially closed.
In a press release released today, Qantas Group - parent company of Jetstar Asia - said the reason was due to "high supplier costs, high airport fees and fierce competition in the region, making it difficult for low-cost airlines to make profits as core markets operate more effectively in the Group".
Qantas said it expects to record a basic loss of $35 million (before interest and taxes) this fiscal year. This prompted Qantas and its main shareholder, Westbrook Investments, to decide to close Jetstar Asia.
The suspension of this airline will free up to 500 million USD in fleet value, which will be reinvested in other key business segments of Qantas Group.
The suspension of Jetstar Asia will affect 16 Inland Asian routes operated from its main base in Singapore.
Specific routes mainly depart from Singapore to Kuala Lumpur, Penang (Malaysia); Jakarta, Bali, Medan and Surabaya (Indonesia); Bangkok, Krabi and Phuket (Thailand); Manila (Philippines); No Chu (China); Okinawa (Japan) and Colombo.
Domestic and international flights with Jetstar Airways' JQ code in Australia and New Zealand, as well as flights operated by Jetstar Japan (GK code), are not affected.
Jetstar Airways continues to fly from Australia to Asia and popular destinations such as Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan and South Korea.
Passengers who book tickets for flights after July 31 will be fully refunded in cash. Qantas Group also said it will try to support passengers to switch to other airlines if possible.
Similarly, passengers who still hold valid vouchers after Jetstar Asia has stopped operating (from June 11) will be contacted in August to make cash refunds.
Jetstar Asia's closure is sad news for many passengers in Asia, because the choice of low-cost air travel in the region is narrowing.
However, there are still alternatives such as Scoot, AirAsia, or Vietjet, which are famous for a series of low-cost flights to cities in the Asian region.
