In preparation for its long-haul debut in November, the two-year-old Qantas spinoff is replacing desktop PCs with thin-client terminals from Wyse. At sites with LANs, such as major airports, devices running the embedded Wyse Thin OS operating system will provide thin-client access to networked applications.

At smaller sites, Wyse terminals with embedded Windows XPe will increase local smarts and allow connectivity to external devices.

Jetstar trials have shown that thin-client computing also works over Telstra's EV-DO wireless broadband service, which provides adequate bandwidth - even in regional areas like Queensland's Hervey Bay and Ballina in Northern New South Wales - more cheaply than conventional, fixed lines.

"Business-grade DSL might cost A$1,800 (US$1,328) a month, and wireless broadband modems A$100 a month," Jetstar CIO Stephen Tame said.

"We've found that we can still deliver 97.5 percent availability with a primary and secondary [dial-up] access method. You're not going to get 1Mbps broadband connections [over EV-DO] but you will get 100Kbps, and I only need 40Kbps to run a thin-client."