Singapore Airlines' Scoot to take over Jetstar routes

SINGAPORE, June 13 (Reuters) - Flag carrier Singapore Airlines' SIAL.SI budget arm, Scoot, will take over some of the routes run by Qantas Airways' QAN.AX Jetstar Asia, which announced this week that it would close, a Singapore Airlines spokesperson said on Friday.

Qantas announced on Wednesday that it will close its Singapore-based budget subsidiary on July 31, citing rising supplier costs, high airport fees and strong regional competition.

Subject to regulatory approval and talks with partners, Scoot will launch new flights from Singapore to Japan's Okinawa and Labuan Bajo in Indonesia, the spokesperson said. Both routes were exclusively operated by Jetstar Asia.

Singapore Airlines will also ramp up flights to other affected routes, including ones from Singapore to Manila, Colombo and Jakarta. Full flight schedules will be made public in due course, the spokesperson said.

Singapore Airlines previously said that it had set up channels for Jetstar Asia staff to expedite applications for jobs within the airline group.