The Singapore-Colombo launch is also postponed until 26 Oct

Jetstar Asia announced yesterday (18 Jun) that it will be cancelling all flights up to 31 Jul, except for the five weekly services that it has been operating in the past weeks.

In addition, the Singapore-Colombo service which was to be launched on 1 Jul will also be pushed back to commence from 26 Oct 2020.

As again, all impacted Jetstar Asia passengers will be offered a refund to the full value of their untraveled booking in the form of a travel credit voucher. Jetstar Asia has already announced an enhancement to its credit vouchers, extending the validity from the original six months to a year. The credit voucher can also be used in multiple bookings.

Note that passengers with a booking to/from the Philippines, Australia, Sri Lanka or Japan are requested to wait to receive a letter from Jetstar regarding available options, which will likely include a cash refunds as protected until local consumer laws.

Jetstar Asia services still operating

Since late April, Jetstar has been operating five weekly flights to three Southeast Asian cities: Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur and Malaysia. Owing to Thailand’s ban on international passenger flight arrivals, the Singapore-Bangkok service is a freight-only service until further notice.

Sector	Flight no.	Days of ops	Dep	Arr	Flight time	Aircraft
Singapore – Manila	3K761	Tue	0615	0955	3h 40m	A320
Manila – Singapore	3K762	Tue	1030	1415	3h 45m	A320
Singapore – Bangkok*	3K515	Wed, Sat	1045	1210	2h 25m	A320
Bangkok – Singapore	3K516	Wed, Sat	1250	1615	2h 25m	A320
Singapore – Kuala Lumpur	3K685	Thu	1250	1355	1h 5m	A320
	3K663	Sun	0935	1040	1h 5m	A320
Kuala Lumpur – Singapore	3K686	Thu	1440	1545	1h 5m	A320
	3K664	Sun	1120	1230	1h 10m	A320

Final thoughts

In the time where airlines are starting to ramp up services again, it’s rather intriguing as to why Jetstar Asia remains slow to resume service.

While loads will understandably be much lower as compared to pre-Covid-19 days, the airlines will need to take the first initiative to commence service, as a signal of recovery before consumers start booking flights.

If Jetstar continues to take such a conservative stance in resuming flight, I won’t be surprised if they pick up less than ideal loads and yields down the road, given that demand will probably not meet capacity in the foreseeable future.