Jetstar boss Bruce Buchanan is certain the airline will become bigger than Qantas. Picture: Stuart Milligan Source: Herald Sun

When Bruce Buchanan enthuses over Asia's incredible travelling expansion, the Jetstar boss speaks with the rapidity of a man flat out staying in front of aviation's most exciting market race.

Buchanan leads the world's fastest growing low-fare airline group, staying ahead of a North Asian market expansion of about 20 percent a year fuelled by China's and South Korea's massive rising middle classes.

And he speaks with the authority of the increasing autonomy of the international Jetstar Group - which he sees inevitably overtaking the size of its parent, Qantas - and a confident directness on the local rivals Virgin Australia and the beleaguered Tiger.

He also warned the combative pilots union of "dire consequences" if it tries to press Qantas long-haul wage levels on to Jetstar.

Buchanan believes Australians who still think of Jetstar as primarily their locally-based low-cost carrier do not realise it will soon offer 60 destinations, half from the Singapore base of its Jetstar Asia sister.

"We've carried 20 million passengers in the past year after seven years of operation - the big low-cost carriers like Air Asia, Ryan Air in Europe, South West in the U.S., none of them reached that milestone so quickly. We're the fastest growing airline in the history of aviation," he said.

Last week Buchanan unveiled a AU$500 million investment in new aircraft which will take the Singapore base to four wide-bodied Airbus A330s and 17 A320s, new routes to Beijing, Ningbo and Hanoi and extra flights to Hong Kong, Taipei, Ho Chi Minh City, Kuala Lumpur, Bali and Jakarta.

The Asian business has tripled in three years.

"We're going to see a 4-5 times multiple for low-cost carriers in North Asia by the end of this decade," he said.

"I think there will be new Jetstar airlines which will appear in other parts of the world as well."

Buchanan "absolutely" believes Jetstar will become bigger than Qantas.

He thinks Jetstar and its main competitor Air Asia have already reached a size where economies of scale will make it tough for nationally-based airlines which used to have captive audiences to catch up.

Buchanan is comfortable with carrying the profit load on behalf of struggling Qantas, which he sees as temporary due to the business market strength of Qantas.

But he sees Jetstar revenue as growing faster than that of Qantas.

He believes some Qantas long-haul pilot salaries are "exorbitant" by international standards and said he would not tolerate any pay deal which would see Jetstar pilots paid the highest Qantas wages.

"If they try to impose those sorts of conditions, the dire consequences this will actually cause . . . we won't put the Qantas code share on our flights if that actually was to get up," Buchanan said.

"We're happy to get rid of it, no skin off our nose."

Buchanan said Jetstar only had a small proportional revenue on code-share connections to Qantas long-haul flights.

"We'd take the Qantas code off and you know what that will do?" he said.

"It's going to put you (pilots) in a worse situation, because they won't have the passenger traffic to continue to justify flying as many aircraft. So you'll wind up in this ridiculous situation where you cause your own demise even faster."

Jetstar Broadens Horizens

Passengers (2009-10) ............ 20 million
Destinations .............................. 58
Asian fleet ................................... 21 aircraft (by December)
North Asia growth ...................... Ahead of 17% annual projection
Employees .................................. 7000