Australia’s Jetstar, a low-cost airline owned by Qantas, is aiming to launch flights linking Athens with Melbourne in 2010, the Athens News Agency (ANA) reported yesterday.

In a bid to carve out its own market share, Jetstar plans to entice passengers by offering return tickets between the two cities for as little as 1,200 Australian dollars (around 730 euros), according to ANA.

The airline has arranged the purchase of an additional 15 aircraft in order to meet the demands of its new scheduled flight routes.

Qantas announced earlier this week that despite the global economic crisis, passenger traffic has increased considerably in the last few months, helping to lift expected first-half profits to 150 million Australian dollars.