AFTER decades of going its own way in terms of distribution, Jetstar has this week embraced travel agents by for the first time ever enabling the booking of its fares via Global Distribution System (GDS) platforms.
The new capability is a “joint effort between Jetstar and Qantas to deliver efficiencies to mutual trade partners, making it more efficient to book and manage Jetstar fares” the carriers said.
The move is applicable to Jetstar Airways (JQ), Jetstar Asia (3K) and Jetstar Japan (GK) flights, all of which can be now ticketed by GDS with tickets issued on QF (081) stock without the need for a Qantas fare on the ticket.
Until now, if an Australian travel agent wanted to issue a Jetstar itinerary in GDS they would follow Jetstar’s ticketless booking process, while agents outside Australia were required to issue tickets on Hahn Air (HR) stock.
Effective 04 August 2022 all Jetstar itinerary types can be issued on QF tickets, including domestic Jetstar only fares, domestic Jetstar & Qantas fares, international Jetstar only fares, and international Jetstar and Qantas fares on select routes. Itineraries can also include Jetstar Japan and Jetstar Asia fares.
The move coincides with a revamp of Jetstar’s fare structure including the introduction of a seat-only Starter fare in GDS and making its Starter Plus and Starter Max fares available in lower booking classes.
Qantas Agency Connect will continue to support Qantas ticketed bookings containing Qantas and Jetstar flights, and Jetstar Industry Support will provide the servicing for ticketed bookings containing only Jetstar flights.
