Cost increases have been seen across “the whole ecosystem we operate out of,” Jetstar Group Chief Executive Officer Stephanie Tully told reporters at a briefing Wednesday. “The airport fees are a part of that. That has had an impact on the business.”
The “unsustainable” rising costs of operating from Singapore’s Changi airport were partly to blame for the closure of Qantas Airways Ltd.’s low-cost subsidiary Jetstar Asia, executives said.
The decision to shut down operations — and cut some 500 jobs — comes as losses mount for the Jetstar brand’s Singapore-based offshoot, which had only been profitable in the six of the 21 years. Higher airport fees imposed by Changi to fund a $3 billion facility upgrade kicked in on April 1.
