LOW-COST carrier Jetstar Asia which received its fourth million passenger on Wednesday is confident it can weather the turbulence of the global financial crisis which has hit the travel industry.

Among other strategies, the Singapore-based carrier is aiming to capture a larger slice of the corporate travel market, said chief executive officer Chong Phit Lian.

As the economic slowdown forces companies to trim excesses and cut travel spending, many small and medium sized businesses especially are moving away from full-service to low-cost airlines, Ms Chong said.

In the last few weeks alone, the airline has signed on more than 20 corporate clients.

Jetstar now services close to 100 companies.

Ms Chong said the airline will focus on tailoring its service to meet customer needs.

For example, business travellers are allowed one complimentary change to the itinerary, unlike other customers who have to pay a fee to revise travel plans and flight timings.

So far, Jetstar's business has been holding up, she said adding that in the first nine months of the year, the airline carried more passengers than during the same period last year.

Ms Chong did not have the traffic figures readily available.

Jetstar which currently flies to 14 destinations, including many capital cities in the region like Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Bangkok, is gearing up for its foray into the East Malaysian market.

It will start four weekly flights to Kota Kinabalu from Dec 2 and fly to Kuching from next March.

The additional flights follow the recent liberalisation of Singapore-Malaysia air links.

At Changi Airport Terminal 1 on Wednesday afternoon, Ms Calin Tan, 40, a manager in a labour supply company who had just come back from a one-day trip to Bangkok was pleasantly surprised when told she was the lucky fourth million passenger.

She and her husband, businessman Andrew Goh, 41, received $4,000 worth of Jestar Asia travel vouchers.