The Story Of Jetstar Airways’ Boeing 717 Fleet

Australian low-cost carrier Jetstar presently has a fleet dominated by Airbus jets. Indeed, the only Boeing aircraft that the silver-liveried airline operates is the US planemaker’s 787-8, the short-fuselage variant of the ‘Dreamliner’ widebody series. However, did you know that another Boeing design played a significant role in Jetstar’s initial years in the early to mid-2000s? This is the story of its Boeing 717s.

14 second-hand 717s

According to fleet data made available by ATDB.aero, Jetstar Airways operated 14 examples of the Boeing 717-200 during the early years of the 21st century. Derived from the McDonnell Douglas DC-9, and initially designated as the MD-95 before McDonnell Douglas merged with Boeing, the 717-200 was the only production variant of the 717 family, although several other versions were considered.

According to Boeing, the 717’s production cycle spanned from 1998 until 2006, with the US planemaker manufacturing 156 examples of the rear-engined twinjet during this period. The aircraft had a maximum capacity of 134 passengers, although typical configurations saw it fitted with 117 seats in a one-class setup or 106 seats across two classes. Jetstar Airways’ examples of the type had high-density layouts.

Indeed, data from Planespotters.net shows that, while one unit had 115 seats onboard and another three could accommodate 117 passengers, the majority (10 units) had space for 125 guests. This reflects Jetstar Airways’ operational model as a low-cost carrier, emphasizing high passenger loads and low margins. Despite their different capacities, the carrier’s 717s all arrived at the same time.

A short operational period

The reason for this was the fact that the aircraft were inherited from fellow Australian operator Impulse Airlines. This carrier ceased operations on May 25th, 2004, and this was also the date that Jetstar’s 14 examples of the Boeing 717 were transferred to the airline. As such, they didn’t arrive brand-new, but still, they were far from old, having been built just a few years before, between 1998 and 2001.

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Unfortunately, the Boeing 717-200’s career at Jetstar Airways ultimately proved to be a rather short-lived affair, with the first departure of the type (VH-VQC) taking place after less than a year, in March 2005. This aircraft was the first of eight 717s to leave Jetstar during that particular calendar year, with the remaining seven departures occurring between April and December. More were to follow shortly after.

Indeed, 2006 saw all six of Jetstar Airways’ remaining 717s leave the low-cost carrier, with their departures spanning from May to December of that year. Despite leaving the airline, these aircraft did remain on Australian soil, with their post-Jetstar life taking them to QantasLink, where they were operated by National Jet Systems. Several examples remain active today at various different operators.

Flying billboards

As well as serving the purpose of helping Jetstar to establish itself in its early years, the 717 was also used as a promotional tool at its time with the Australian low-cost carrier. For example, the aircraft below with a livery promoting Domino’s Pizza also wore a color scheme advertising Lynx deodorant. Meanwhile, VH-YQJ advertised car hire firms Avis and Budget with a special livery, as pictured below.

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These liveries will undoubtedly have turned heads all across Australia, while providing a decent little money-spinner for Jetstar Airways. Of course, for low-cost carriers, no extra channels of revenue are off limits, and, as such, it is unsurprising that Jetstar isn’t the only budget operator to have supported such liveries. Indeed, as Simple Flying explored in 2021, Ryanair also used to have promotional liveries.

Where did Jetstar fly the Boeing 717?

Looking at scheduling data made available by Cirium, an aviation analytics company, we can gain insight into where and how Jetstar Airways deployed its Boeing 717-200 aircraft. According to the site, the Australian low-cost carrier scheduled 21,105 flights with the type in 2004, offering 2,638,125 seats and 1,480,802,125 available seat miles (ASMs). That year, the top route was Sydney – Gold Coast.

Moving into 2005, Jetstar offered even greater capacity with the 717-200, scheduling 24,578 flights with 3,072,250 seats and 1,789,103,125 ASMs. That year, Melbourne – Hobart stood out as the type’s top route. As previously alluded to, 2006 was Jetstar’s final year operating the 717, and it scheduled just 2,126 flights with the rear-engined twinjet that year. These had 265,750 seats and 148,987,000 ASMs.

The Boeing 717 today

While the Boeing 717 never sold in huge numbers, a decent proportion of the 156 units that rolled off the factory line remain in service today. Indeed, present fleet data made available by ch-aviation lists 93 examples of the type as still being active at the time of writing, with this figure representing 60% of the total production output. The type has carved out its niche, with just three carriers flying it.

Alongside six active examples at the aforementioned QantasLink (operated by National Jet Systems / Cobham Aviation Services), there are also 71 active units in Delta Air Lines’ current fleet, and 16 at Hawaiian Airlines. These three carriers also respectively have one, 19, and three inactive examples of the 717 on their books, and Cirium’s data shows that 206,400 flights with the type are scheduled this year.

Did you know that Jetstar Airways used to fly the Boeing 717? Perhaps you even traveled on one yourself in the airline’s early years? Let us know your thoughts and experiences in the comments!