Australian carrier Jetstar under investigation

Australia's aviation regulator said it had launched a review of maintenance at budget airline Jetstar, a Qantas offshoot, in the wake of another low-cost carrier being grounded. The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) said it was examining aircraft and conducting checks at Jetstar after a records mix-up resulted in some planes missing routine inspections. Jetstar reported the issue to CASA late last week and a review would take place in the next few days, said the regulator's spokesman Peter Gibson. "We've had a detailed briefing from them on what happened and what they've done since. We certainly don't believe there were any immediate or serious safety issues," Gibson told AFP. "But we are reviewing what Jetstar have done and we will be looking carefully at their maintenance systems, particularly their maintenance control systems, to ensure that they are robust and are operating as we would expect." Gibson said the missed inspections and procedures, including tasks such as the greasing of door hinges, were "all lower-level issues" and Jetstar immediately put the planes into maintenance once they realised on Thursday. The revelation follows the grounding of fellow budget carrier Tiger Airways Australia until at least August 1 due to "serious and imminent" safety risks -- the first such ban of an entire carrier in Australian history. But Gibson denied there was cause for concern about the budget flight industry. "I don't think anybody's jumping to that conclusion," he said."The same safety standards apply whether you're a full-cost carrier or a low-cost carrier, we do the same types of audits, we do the same types of surveillance. "Where airlines seek to lower costs and to deliver cheaper fares the one thing they can't do is cut corners on safety." Gibson would not be drawn on whether Jetstar was facing penalties over the incident, saying only that CASA would take "any appropriate action if it's required". Tiger, an Australian offshoot of the Singapore brand of the same name, has vowed to take all necessary steps to return to the skies and says it has a bright future, despite losing Aus$2 (US$2.15) million every week it is grounded.