News & Discussion: Adelaide Airport & Airlines

[how good is he]

I think the problem in the end is that Virgin don’t own the planes anyway as they are all leased. So I can’t see how legally the airports can seize or hold them.

[Ho Really]

Virgin Australia's aircraft are not all leased...



Virgin Australia Group Fleet at December 31, 2019.
Source Forbes

Cheers

[rev]

Quick question, somewhat Adelaide Airport related as it's taking off from the airport.
What's with the Queensland rescue helicopter the last few days flying around Adelaide and out over the gulf?

[rev]

$5 billion worth of aircraft is parked in the outback near Alice Springs..

[Stefan P]

Evening all,

Singapore Airlines will run a freight only flight on May 6th and 13th to Adelaide using A350-900's.

[rubberman]

$5 billion worth of aircraft is parked in the outback near Alice Springs..

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I'm surprised that no-one is using Woomera for this.

[Ho Really]

Evening all,

Singapore Airlines will run a freight only flight on May 6th and 13th to Adelaide using A350-900's.

Freight link restored between SA and Asia
Wednesday, 6 May 2020 11:26 am

More than 30 tonnes of fresh South Australian seafood, meat and other produce is on its way to Asia on the first direct freight service from Adelaide since flights were grounded by the coronavirus pandemic.

The Singapore Airlines flight, the first of six now scheduled out of SA, is loaded with local products including chilled seafood, tuna, lamb, chicken meat and eggs, as well as wine, cosmetics and mining equipment.

It's expected that once in Singapore the produce will be then be distributed across Asia to markets including Hong Kong, Thailand, Vietnam and China as well as to the US.
Federal Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said the agreement with Singapore Airlines would re-establish a direct freight route for South Australian exporters doing it tough during the COVID-19 crisis.

"We're backing South Australia's farmers and fishers through this agreement that will restore this critical freight route and give exporters a direct line back into key export markets across Asia," Senator Birmingham said.

"Our exporters fight so hard to win contracts in export markets and we want to make sure they can continue to get their products to their customers on time.

"The more South Australian produce, meat, and seafood we can (get) onto these flights and headed overseas, the more local jobs we can secure and the more export dollars we can bring back into South Australia."

Premier Steven Marshall said the freight service would provide a significant boost for local exporters and jobs.

"Today marks a real turning point for South Australia's exporters who have been struggling with the impacts of coronavirus," he said.

"It's fantastic that our local producers now have a clear pathway to supply their fresh premium produce to markets around the world."

Singapore Airlines regional vice president Philip Goh said Wednesday's flight continued the company's long-standing commitment to SA.

"Today's flight is a good first step in supporting South Australian producers and exporters during these difficult times," he said.

The service also allowed for the delivery of urgent medical supplies to Adelaide as well as ship spares, oil-well equipment, aircraft parts and other manufacturing items to support the local economy.

AAP

Cheers

[rev]

Heard on 5AA barely 10 minutes ago that there is a US airline, low cost, with hundreds of planes, thats applied to operate in Australia. Leon was on with an aviation expert sorry didn't quite catch his name. They didnt mention the name, apparently its one of those massive hedge funds behind it though. Any of the resident aviation enthusiasts know anything about this?

Would a third low cost carrier be viable, assuming Tiger is retained post-crisis.

It's also supposedly looking likely that an Australian lead consortium will step in to save Virgin, with the government possibly contributing $$$$. I hope when they say Australian lead, they dont just mean an Australian will be the public face like Gina is for the Chinese consortium she partnered with to buy part of the Kidman station.

[PeFe]

Heard on 5AA barely 10 minutes ago that there is a US airline, low cost, with hundreds of planes, thats applied to operate in Australia. Leon was on with an aviation expert sorry didn't quite catch his name. They didnt mention the name, apparently its one of those massive hedge funds behind it though. Any of the resident aviation enthusiasts know anything about this?

Would a third low cost carrier be viable, assuming Tiger is retained post-crisis.

It's also supposedly looking likely that an Australian lead consortium will step in to save Virgin, with the government possibly contributing $$$$. I hope when they say Australian lead, they dont just mean an Australian will be the public face like Gina is for the Chinese consortium she partnered with to buy part of the Kidman station.

Indigo Partners, a US hedge fund which has invested heavily in low cost airlines in the USA and Mexico, is one of the bidders for the Virgin Airlines carcass.

Tiger is dead.....My guess is that Virgin may resusciatated as a "upmarket" low cost carrier.

[rev]

Thanks for that. Looked them up, and thats the one they were talking about on radio.
They're a potential bidder for Virgin, but also are looking at an air operators certificate.

It is reported that Indigo Partners is looking at acquiring an Australian air operator’s certificate. That would enable them to set up an airline in Australia subject to meeting local regulatory and licensing criteria. Foreign ownership does not impede operating an airline in Australia. However, management does need to be headquartered locally.

https://www.google.com/amp/s/simpleflyi ... n-aoc/amp/

If Tiger is dead as you suggest, I think it would be a good thing to maintain competition for Jetstar.

The article also suggests Virgin could have a name change.
Aren't they paying Branson royalties for using the Virgin name?
Wonder if it would reduce costs noticeably if they dropped it.
Could the Ansett brand be reborn?

[bm7500]

Construction on the new Mitsubishi Australia corporate HQ commenced today at the airport's entrance.

[PeFe]

Yes Virgin have to pay reportedly $10-15 million per year to use the Virgin "brand". That is the first thing the new owners of Virgin will drop...the name.

There is probably no room in the Australian market for a full price Qantas competitor (with their own cut price airline to compete with Jetstar)

Qantas have already started their war against any new competitor flagging cut price Jetstar fares in the future. Alan Joyce hinted at $39 Sydney Melbourne return.

I will miss Tiger, I flew them lots.....but I realize that the only way for reasonably priced airfares in the future is for the the third airline to be competitive.

[how good is he]

Actually I expect whoever takes over/buys it will keep the name Virgin. I mean it has strong existing goodwill and a strong national and international brand. The $10m-$15m licensing fee [which maybe re-negotiated lower] is a really tiny cost relative to the overall revenue and its former $5-7 billion debt etc. Plus it has all the Virgin lounges across the world and ironically Adelaide's new multi-million dollar Virgin lounge has just been finished.

[rev]

Yes Virgin have to pay reportedly $10-15 million per year to use the Virgin "brand". That is the first thing the new owners of Virgin will drop...the name.

There is probably no room in the Australian market for a full price Qantas competitor (with their own cut price airline to compete with Jetstar)

Qantas have already started their war against any new competitor flagging cut price Jetstar fares in the future. Alan Joyce hinted at $39 Sydney Melbourne return.

I will miss Tiger, I flew them lots.....but I realize that the only way for reasonably priced airfares in the future is for the the third airline to be competitive.

So does anyone know why Virgin has racked up debts in the billions? Whereas Qantas says they can survive all the way up till the end of 2021 as is?
Whats the major differences?

And if a second full service carrier adopted a similar approach to Qantas, why wouldn't it be viable to have both?

Personally I think the government should get back in on airlines. Some of the biggest and most successful are government owned, as I named earlier. Run it the way Singapore does for example.

[Nort]

An Australian consortium buying Virgin Australia and it having more Australian ownership that QANTAS would be a hell of a marketing tool.