The chief executive of Qantas Airways budget offshoot Jetstar said Tuesday he was leaving the group after nine years to focus on helping other companies succeed in the Asian market.
Bruce Buchanan, who built Jetstar into one of the leading low-fare carriers in Asia, will step down as part of a broader management restructuring, with Qantas splitting its international and domestic arms into separate businesses.
Seen by many as a potential successor to Qantas chief Alan Joyce, Buchanan will remain with Jetstar for the next six months to help with the transition and then provide consultancy to the group for another 18 months.
He will then work "with other Australian companies seeking to expand into growth markets within Asia".
Buchanan said he was proud of the his time with Jetstar, which he said "pioneered a way of setting up airlines across Asia".
"If we can export airlines -- a business where we have no natural advantages -- there are no limits to where we can leverage our Australian ingenuity," he said.
The Jetstar Group is the largest low cost airline in the Asia-Pacific by revenue and has flown a total of over 75 million passengers since it launched in 2004, flying to more than 60 destinations in 17 countries and territories.