Jetstar to start Boeing 787 Dreamliner flights in August 2013?

LATEST | Jetstar will take delivery of its first Boeing 787 Dreamliner in September 2013

UPDATE | A spokesperson for Jetstar Asia says that the airline's Boeing 787 launch date and routes posted to Facebook and Twitter (and since deleted by the airline) "were incorrect".

"We apologise for the misleading Facebook post and tweet" the spokesperson told Australian Business Traveller. "Jetstar Group will be receiving the first of its 787s from mid 2013, but we have yet to confirm the launch dates (and ) we have yet to confirm our routes for our B787."

Australian Business Traveller agreed to print Jetstar Asia's response and take on board their claim that this was a simple case of human error. We're all about the fairness.

That said, we'll leave it for our readers to decide if the information published by Jetstar Asia was factually "incorrect" or if this was an accidental leak of news which Jetstar has yet to make public.

PREVIOUS |  Jetstar will begin flying the Boeing 787 Dreamliner in August 2013 with Melbourne-Singapore, Auckland-Singapore and Singapore-Beijing top of the list of the Dreamliner's debut.

The Asian-based arm of Qantas; low-cost carrier, Jetstar Asia, confirmed the date on Twitter today, with a Tweet [now removed] saying "The B787 Dreamliner is joining Jetstar next Aug!".

And while launch routes have not been officially announced, an update on Jetstar Asia's Facebook page [now removed] cites that "Till August 2013, we still have our reliable A330s to PEK, MEL and AKL!" – a clear indication that those three cities, which currently use Airbus A330s, will feature the Boeing 787 after its August debut.

Other likely services flagged by Jetstar include flights from Melbourne, Sydney and the Gold Coast to destinations in Asia as well as Honolulu.

Jetstar has ordered 15 of Boeing's 787-8 version, with an estimated 300 seats comprising business class and economy.

"The 787 is a quantum leap in aircraft technology and passenger comfort," Jetstar CEO Brian Buchanan enthused last year. "It’s been said that the 787 represents the same kind of paradigm shift we saw with the first commercial jetliners in the 1950s and the 747 jumbos in the 1970s."

Jetstar and Qantas are hosting this week's visit of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to Australia on the final leg of Boeing's global Dreamtour.

Jetstar & Qantas do the 787 shuffle

A further 30 787-9s – a stretched version of the 'dash 8 Dreamliner' – will be split between Qantas and Jetstar, with the first deliveries due in 2015-16.

Some of Jetstar's first 787-8s will then be handed down to Qantas for use on domestic routes, ranging from the 'golden triangle' of Brisbane-Sydney-Melbourne to the cross-country leg from the east coast to Perth.

Lyell Strambi, former Qantas Group Executive for Operations and newly-minted CEO of Qantas Domestic, told Australian Business Traveller last year that “Internationally Jetstar needs the 787 in the short term and Qantas domestic needs it in the long term”.

"In the longer term we have the option to swing the 787-8 back into the domestic space when we retire the A330 fleet.”

Jetstar’s two-class Dreamliners will neatly match the same business/economy split as needed for Qantas’ domestic flights, giving the Qantas group maximum flexbility as it moves the Boeing 787 into flagship status.

For more news, reviews and the very latest info for business travellers, follow us on Twitter: we're @AusBT.

Also in AusBT's extensive coverage of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner...

• Qantas brings the Boeing 787 Dreamliner back to Sydney
• Photo tour: November's Qantas' Boeing 787 Dreamliner Sydney event
• Inside the Boeing 787's funky crew rest 'loft'
• Light fantastic: the Boeing 787 Dreamliner's digital window tinting
• Photo tour: step inside ANA's new Boeing 787 Dreamliner
• Photos and flight report: ANA’s Boeing 787 Dreamliner
• Why business travellers will love the Boeing 787 Dreamliner
• Fan pays $32,700 for seat on first ANA Boeing 787 Dreamliner flight
• Boeing’s 787 nixes first class for business, premium economy
• Boeing chooses Android for 787 Dreamliner's entertainment system

David Flynn

David Flynn is the Editor-in-Chief of Executive Traveller and a bit of a travel tragic with a weakness for good coffee, shopping and lychee martinis.