Jetconnect Ltd. was a wholly owned

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company, or daughter company is a company (law), company completely or partially owned or controlled by another company, called the parent company or holding company, which has legal and financial control over the subsidia ...

Qantas Qantas ( ), formally Qantas Airways Limited, is the flag carrier of Australia, and the largest airline by fleet size, international flights, and international destinations in Australia and List of largest airlines in Oceania, Oceania. A foundi ...

with its head office located in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. Originally established in July 2002 as a New Zealandbased

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...

, the company stopped operating as an airline in 2018 but continues to employ pilots and cabin crew based at

and

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

airports. Crew employed by Jetconnect operate Qantas flights on

Trans-Tasman Trans-Tasman is an adjective used primarily to signify the relationship between Australia and New Zealand. The term refers to the Tasman Sea, which lies between the two countries. For example, ''trans-Tasman commerce'' refers to commerce betwee ...

services between Australia and New Zealand, with cabin crew also operating on Qantas long-haul flights alongside Australian-based crew.

History

Jetconnect was established in July 2002, commencing operations in October the same year as a New Zealand-based airline. It operated domestic services within New Zealand until 10 June 2009, when these services were taken over by Jetstar Airways, another Qantas Group airline. Jetconnect then operated Trans- Tasman services between New Zealand and Australia under the

brand with New Zealand-based crew. From mid 2001 to early 2004, JetConnect operated a code-sharing agreement with Origin Pacific Airways. When this ceased, Origin lost 60% of their business. In November 2018, Jetconnect transferred its fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft back to Qantas and ceased to operate as an airline, though the company continues to employ pilots and cabin crew to operate trans-tasman and international services for Qantas.

Destinations

International short-haul

Jetconnect short-haul pilots and cabin crew operate the majority of Qantas-marketed flights from Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown and Wellington to Australian east-coast destinations. * From

** Brisbane ** Melbourne ** Sydney * From

Christchurch Christchurch (; ) is the largest city in the South Island and the List of cities in New Zealand, second-largest city by urban area population in New Zealand. Christchurch has an urban population of , and a metropolitan population of over hal ...

** Brisbane ** Melbourne ** Sydney * From

** Melbourne ** Sydney * From Queenstown ** Sydney ** Brisbane (seasonal) ** Melbourne (seasonal)

Domestic

Jetconnect operated domestic flights in New Zealand until 9 June 2009. The final domestic service was QF2728 from Wellington to Auckland. Domestic services included routes between Auckland, Wellington,

Rotorua Rotorua () is a city in the Bay of Plenty region of New Zealand's North Island. It is sited on the southern shores of Lake Rotorua, from which it takes its name. It is the seat of the Rotorua Lakes District, a territorial authorities of New Zea ...

and Queenstown.Qantas Fact File.
Jetconnect information is on Page 5, NZ Domestic route information is on Page 34. Retrieved: 18 November 2008. Services between Auckland, Christchurch, Queenstown and Wellington have been replaced with Jetstar services. Services to Rotorua were discontinued.

Fleet

In November 2018, all Jetconnect Boeing 737-800 aircraft were transferred to

. Jetconnect previously operated the following Boeing 737 series aircraft:

Industrial relations

On 17 May 2006, the union representing Australian Qantas pilots, the Australian and International Pilots Association (AIPA), lodged an application to the Australian industrial relations commission

Fair Work Australia The Fair Work Commission (FWC), until 2013 known as Fair Work Australia (FWA), is the Australian industrial relations tribunal created by the ''Fair Work Act 2009'' as part of the Rudd Government's reforms to industrial relations in Australi ...

, seeking to alter its eligibility rules to enable the enrolment of Jetconnect pilots in the union. On 23 May 2007, the commission ruled against the union, declining to consider the question, considering it inappropriate for the AIPA to be able to enrol New Zealand–based Jetconnect pilots, as they were already eligible to be members of the New Zealand Air Line Pilots' Association. In December 2009, the AIPA took Jetconnect parent Qantas to Fair Work Australia, accusing the company of deliberately driving down wages and conditions, by undermining the spirit and intent of the Australian

Fair Work Act The ''Fair Work Act 2009'' (Cth) is an Act of the Parliament of Australia, passed by the Rudd government to reform the industrial relations system of Australia. Replacing the Howard government's WorkChoices legislation, the Act established ...

. The AIPA accused Qantas of paying Jetconnect pilots 40 percent less than Qantas pilots, who six months earlier had been flying the majority of the airline's trans-Tasman services. Qantas was confident that it would win the case, stating: "These are New Zealand pilots operating New Zealand-originated services flying New Zealand-registered aircraft operated by a New Zealand entity". In May 2010, Fair Work Australia president Justice Geoffrey Giudice agreed to convene a full bench to hear the application, and in July 2010, the

Australian Council of Trade Unions The Australian Council of Trade Unions (ACTU), originally the Australasian Council of Trade Unions, is the largest peak body representing workers in Australia. It is a national trade union centre of 46 affiliated trade union, unions and eight t ...

(ACTU) was granted leave to intervene in the case after the ACTU argued that the outcome would have major ramifications for labour hire practice in Australia. The ACTU made its final submission regarding the case in March 2011, and in a majority decision handed down in September 2011 Fair Work Australia dismissed the AIPA's application. In June 2011, the ABC program '' Hungry Beast'' produced a parody television advertisement for Qantas, highlighting the use of Jetconnect for its trans-Tasman flights.

References

External links

Qantas official website
(Jetconnect has no separate website)
Jetconnect Recruitment Page
{{Airlines of New Zealand Defunct airlines of New Zealand Qantas Former Oneworld affiliate members Airlines established in 2002 2018 disestablishments in New Zealand New Zealand companies established in 2002