Jetstar IT lands in NZ

Jetstar's expansion into New Zealand will add only a small overhead to the budget airline's IT operations, its chief information officer Stephen Tame said last week.

(Credit: ZDNet.com.au)

From today New Zealanders will see the first of many more Jetstar planes crossing its skies, which are set to replace the familiar tail of its parent, Qantas, as it recoils from the New Zealand domestic market.

"We've got networks that operate into local domestic airports in Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown, Wellington. It's actually setting up a reasonably sized airline operation in New Zealand; so it's probably about 10 to 15 per cent on top of my current operations in terms of scale," Tame told ZDNet.com.au.

While Jetstar will touchdown for the first time at Auckland airport today, in support of its Trans-Tasman service, from 10 June 2009 Jetstar will fly all domestic services in the country on behalf of Qantas, with terminals at New Zealand's four major airports.

Despite the increase in Tame's operations, he said the airline had required a minimal investment in technology to support the business, with much of the core infrastructure set to remain in Australia.

"As far as cost, it's fairly minimal. We're delivering most of our systems virtually. We don't have PCs, just thin clients and fixed network points. Most services will be delivered centrally out of Australia," he said.

There are a few winners from Jetstar's expansion into New Zealand such as Wyse, which will supply around 50 thin client terminals for use at check-in counters, departure gates and crew rooms; and IBM, which will supply Jetstar's self-service check-in terminals at Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. "Kiosks are becoming an inherent part of our cost model," said Tame.