Qantas to divest minority stake in Jetstar Japan under new ownership plan.

Qantas and Japan Airlines (JAL) today announced that they have signed a non binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to facilitate the transition of Jetstar Japan to a new Japanese capital-led ownership structure.

Subject to the parties reaching agreement on the transaction and obtaining the necessary regulatory approvals, the proposed arrangement would see Qantas divest its minority shareholding of 33.32 per cent in Jetstar Japan. The companies expect an agreement to be finalised by July 2026, with the ownership transition targeted for completion by June 2027.

Qantas clarified that there will be no change to Jetstar Japan’s current shareholding or governance structure until a definitive agreement is signed and the transaction is completed.

According to the airlines, the proposed transaction is intended to position Jetstar Japan for its next phase of growth in the Japanese market, while enabling the Qantas Group to concentrate its ongoing capital investment on strengthening Qantas and Jetstar’s domestic and international operations in Australia.

The airlines also confirmed that there will be no impact on existing Qantas or Jetstar international services between Australia and Japan, and that codeshare arrangements with Japan Airlines will remain unchanged.

Qantas said, “it will provide a further update to the market once a binding agreement has been reached.”