News & Discussion: Adelaide Airport & Airlines

[Ho Really]

Today Singapore Airlines celebrates 40 years of flying to Adelaide. Their first flight was back on 31 March 1984 with a Boeing 747 Jumbo. Here's another 40 + years to SIA, a great partner to Adelaide Airport and SA. Happy Easter.

Cheers

[VinyTapestry849]

I'm intrigued about exactly ONE direct passenger to Ho Chi Minh City....

I wonder how the "indirect" number is derived. Los Angeles is the on;y North American city on the list - do people really go there as the destination, or do they lly Qantas or Virgin Adelaide-Sydney-Los Angeles then switch to a different airline for the next hop to Toronto/Vancouver/New York/somewhere else but get counted at Los Angeles due to a change of airline? Maybe there are enough other airports/cities that no single one beats 18,440 to get in to this list so they are all group in "Others".

United Airlines were having a look at Adelaide Airport before the pandemic btw, but then covid happened. It would be easy for Adelaide to sustain a seasonal ADL - LAX service on a Boeing 787-8 or equivalent, perhaps even thrice weekly throughout the year. If you believe airport statics, then there is demand, regardless if some of the travellers will fly elsewhere after landing in LAX. I can see carriers like United flying into Adelaide comfortably once the terminal expansion happens.

[rev]

Three times a week Adelaide to the other side of the planet? We've barely scratched the surface with direct flights to the Asian continent.

[rev]

Today Singapore Airlines celebrates 40 years of flying to Adelaide. Their first flight was back on 31 March 1984 with a Boeing 747 Jumbo. Here's another 40 + years to SIA, a great partner to Adelaide Airport and SA. Happy Easter.

Cheers

SIA have been great to Adelaide. Not sure how, but wish the state government would do more to work with them to enhance that to ensure they're here for another 40 years at least.

[A-Town]

Three times a week Adelaide to the other side of the planet? We've barely scratched the surface with direct flights to the Asian continent.

True, but more Australians visit the US than every Asian country except Indonesia (Bali), so demand is clearly there.

[SBD]

Three times a week Adelaide to the other side of the planet? We've barely scratched the surface with direct flights to the Asian continent.

True, but more than Australians visit the US than every Asian country except Indonesia (Bali), so demand is clearly there.

Domestic-International transfers in Sydney are horrible. Direct flights from Adelaide to just about any gateway in North America ought to be popular. Even Honolulu has potential as both a destination and a gateway to North America.

[VinyTapestry849]

Three times a week Adelaide to the other side of the planet? We've barely scratched the surface with direct flights to the Asian continent.

Airport statistics say there was around 45,000 direct and indirect movements to and from LAX before the pandemic.

If United were to do thrice weekly that's 3 x 52 = 156 flights per annum, therefore 45,000 passengers ÷ 156 flights ≈ approx. 288 passengers per flight (filling the 280-seat capacity of the 787-8)

Now digress, majority of traffic will be crammed into the school holidays throughout the year, but it's a solid business case. Adelaide is well within the range of the Boeing 787-8, which is perfect for our route.

That is why United were looking at Adelaide before the pandemic, its profitable and achievable, so once we get back Cathay and China Southern, Brenton Cox will be trying to get United to Adelaide.

[dbl96]

Three times a week Adelaide to the other side of the planet? We've barely scratched the surface with direct flights to the Asian continent.

True, but more Australians visit the US than every Asian country except Indonesia (Bali), so demand is clearly there.

At the end of last year, the top destinations for Aussie passport travellers were:
1. Indonesia
2. New Zealand
3. USA
4. UK
5. Thailand
6. India
7. Japan
8. Fiji
9. Vietnam
10. Singapore

In 2019, pre-pandemic, the list was:
1. Indonesia
2. New Zealand
3. USA
4. UK
5. China
6. Thailand
7. Japan
8. India
9. Singapore
10. Fiji

https://amp.smh.com.au/traveller/travel ... 5eksn.html

But as discussed in my previous post, while Aussies mostly think about international flights in terms of the leisure destinations they’d like to visit, a very large portion of the demand for international travel in/out of Australia is not leisure travel, it is migration related travel - migrants travelling here, returning home, and receiving visits from family and friends. That’s how SYD is able to sustain direct flights to 18 mainland Chinese cities, most of which most Aussies would never have heard of, let alone planned a leisure trip to.

Most of the migration related travel is not done on Aussie passports, although obviously a decent portion of it is, for migrants who have been naturalised. I’d imagine this would have lifted the rankings India, China, and to some extent New Zealand, Vietnam and the UK would have otherwise received on the lists above. Whereas for the countries with relatively few migrants in Australia like the USA, Japan and Indonesia, the numbers are probably mostly made up of Aussie tourists (and business travellers in the case of the US).

[rev]

Three times a week Adelaide to the other side of the planet? We've barely scratched the surface with direct flights to the Asian continent.

Airport statistics say there was around 45,000 direct and indirect movements to and from LAX before the pandemic.

If United were to do thrice weekly that's 3 x 52 = 156 flights per annum, therefore 45,000 passengers ÷ 156 flights ≈ approx. 288 passengers per flight (filling the 280-seat capacity of the 787-8)
Boeing_787-8_Dreamliner,_United_Airlines_JP7500927.jpg
Now digress, majority of traffic will be crammed into the school holidays throughout the year, but it's a solid business case. Adelaide is well within the range of the Boeing 787-8, which is perfect for our route.

That is why United were looking at Adelaide before the pandemic, its profitable and achievable, so once we get back Cathay and China Southern, Brenton Cox will be trying to get United to Adelaide.

When were United having a look at Adelaide?

[Saltwater]

While not mentioned directly, United have orders for 150 x 787's they're looking to utilise in the medium term:

https://www.hotelmanagement.com.au/2023 ... s-in-2024/

[VinyTapestry849]

Three times a week Adelaide to the other side of the planet? We've barely scratched the surface with direct flights to the Asian continent.

Airport statistics say there was around 45,000 direct and indirect movements to and from LAX before the pandemic.

If United were to do thrice weekly that's 3 x 52 = 156 flights per annum, therefore 45,000 passengers ÷ 156 flights ≈ approx. 288 passengers per flight (filling the 280-seat capacity of the 787-8)
Boeing_787-8_Dreamliner,_United_Airlines_JP7500927.jpg
Now digress, majority of traffic will be crammed into the school holidays throughout the year, but it's a solid business case. Adelaide is well within the range of the Boeing 787-8, which is perfect for our route.

That is why United were looking at Adelaide before the pandemic, its profitable and achievable, so once we get back Cathay and China Southern, Brenton Cox will be trying to get United to Adelaide.

When were United having a look at Adelaide?

Yes, before the pandemic United were actually assessing Adelaide

[VinyTapestry849]

While not mentioned directly, United have orders for 150 x 787's they're looking to utilise in the medium term:

https://www.hotelmanagement.com.au/2023 ... s-in-2024/

I think we'll have to wait until the terminal expansion is complete before we see United flying in. idk if we have enough space in the current terminal to accommodate them. Theres only enough space for 3 Code E aircraft at a time

[rev]

Airport statistics say there was around 45,000 direct and indirect movements to and from LAX before the pandemic.

If United were to do thrice weekly that's 3 x 52 = 156 flights per annum, therefore 45,000 passengers ÷ 156 flights ≈ approx. 288 passengers per flight (filling the 280-seat capacity of the 787-8)
Boeing_787-8_Dreamliner,_United_Airlines_JP7500927.jpg
Now digress, majority of traffic will be crammed into the school holidays throughout the year, but it's a solid business case. Adelaide is well within the range of the Boeing 787-8, which is perfect for our route.

That is why United were looking at Adelaide before the pandemic, its profitable and achievable, so once we get back Cathay and China Southern, Brenton Cox will be trying to get United to Adelaide.

When were United having a look at Adelaide?

Yes, before the pandemic United were actually assessing Adelaide

Oh. First I heard of this (not an airline aficionado by any stretch).
Did a google search but couldn't find anything, got a link? Would be interesting to get an idea of what they are thinking as the airport were talking about flights to the USA.

[VinyTapestry849]

When were United having a look at Adelaide?

Yes, before the pandemic United were actually assessing Adelaide

Oh. First I heard of this (not an airline aficionado by any stretch).
Did a google search but couldn't find anything, got a link? Would be interesting to get an idea of what they are thinking as the airport were talking about flights to the USA.

It was confirmed by a worker at Adelaide Airport who heard about it from his superiors. It was nothing super serious but United has its eyes on expanding Australasia services in the next few years and Adelaide is in the crosshair. We’re the last major city that United doesn’t yet serve in Australia that is reachable (Perth is too far away, sucks to be them).

United were (and are) assessing Adelaide airports viability for the route, and I’m confident we’ll see Adelaide-USA flights sooner rather then later. United have the perfect aircraft, the Boeing 787-8, and there is actually is enough demand to make it happen. Adelaide airport has said it’s determined to get back Cathay and China southern before pursuing new routes though, so like usual we have to wait on the Chinese

[SBD]

When were United having a look at Adelaide?

Yes, before the pandemic United were actually assessing Adelaide

Oh. First I heard of this (not an airline aficionado by any stretch).
Did a google search but couldn't find anything, got a link? Would be interesting to get an idea of what they are thinking as the airport were talking about flights to the USA.

See your own post from 2019. https://sensational-adelaide.com/forum/ ... 33#p183833