GOOD news for travellers here who prefer longhaul flights that are easy on their wallets: Budget airlines are stepping up to cater to the demand.

The latest to join the bandwagon is Jetstar Asia Airways.

The Asian arm of Qantas’ Jetstar Airways announced that it will base two A330 carriers here for direct long-haul flights.

The planes, which will arrive in December and in the second quarter of next year, can carry some 300 passengers each.

Passengers will be able to order pre-paid meal packs, among other offerings.

The meal packs on Jetstar Airways’ flights currently go at A$30 (S$37).

Prices and destinations have not been confirmed, but the airline is looking at opening routes to Japan, Europe and Australia, said a Jetstar Asia spokesman yesterday.

Ticket prices are expected to be “very much lower” than ticket prices of non-budget flights, she added.

Besides being a tourist hub, Singapore has a “strong appetite” for low-cost long-haul services, and Jetstar is expecting travellers here to be “really responsive”, the spokesman said.

The airline currently jets from Singapore to 19 destinations.

Come July 5, it will launch its longest route – a nine-hour flight to Osaka, Japan, with a 40-minute stopover in Taipei.

A check on its website quoted $1,000 for a return ticket to Osaka, cheaper than Singapore Airline’s (SIA) $1,290.

Jetstar Asia joins its sister budget carrier Jetstar Airways, which first started offering long-haul flights, like from Sydney to Phuket, in 2006.

In 2007, Malaysia-based budget carrier AirAsia’s franchise AirAsia X also began offering long-haul flights to destinations as far as London, but travellers have to catch the flights in Kuala Lumpur.

Still, the total cost of flying to Kuala Lumpur and then London with AirAsia X comes up to only about $1,610, still cheaper than SIA’s $2,068.

Such lower prices spell good news for jetsetters like undergraduate Crystal Lim, 21, who said that she would “fully support” these flights, even though she finds them “a little less comfortable”.

She said: “It’s value for money, and that’s the most important part.”

But Mr Daniel Franssen, 29, a banker who has to take long flights to European countries frequently to visit his family, feels that the price difference between budget and non-budget carriers is “very little”.

He said: “I’d rather pay more for comfort.”

But the third low-cost carrier that operates here, Singapore- based Tiger Airways, will not be joining the fray.

It said that it is not considering long-haul flights because of the high costs involved.

An SIA spokesman said yesterday that competition is most welcome “as consumers are ultimately the ones to benefit from fair competitive practices”.

BUDGET  VS  NON-BUDGET

Singapore to London

AirAsia: Singapore to Kuala Lumpur – $75, 1hr 5min;

KL to London – $1,535, 12hr 30min Total: $1,610, 13hr 35min (excluding transit)

Singapore Airlines: Singapore to London – $2,068, 12 hours

Singapore to Osaka

Jetstar Asia: Singapore to Taipei to Osaka – $1,000, nine hours, including 40-minute stopover

SIA: Singapore to Osaka – $1,290, 7hr 30min