News & Discussion: Adelaide Airport & Airlines

[bm7500]

The White Paper effectivley rules out any changes to the Adelaide Airport curfew arrangements in the near future.

IMO a very near sighted and inhibiting move for the state....

Airport curfew stays in place

PLANES will remain grounded at Adelaide Airport between 11pm and 6am daily, the Aviation White Paper has dictated.

Flight Path to the Future, released by Federal Transport Minister Anthony Albanese yesterday, outlined 130 improvements for the aviation industry, among them a revamp of the prohibited items list to reduce disruptions to travellers and a move to maintain the existing curfew regime at Adelaide, Sydney, Gold Coast (Coolangatta) and Essendon airports.

The white paper outlines the requirement for greater community consultation and master plans for future airport developments, while older, noisy aircraft will be phased out and Airservices Australia's noise complaints department will be strengthened through the establishment of a noise information and complaints ombudsman.

Adelaide Airport Limited managing director Phil Baker said the white paper offered "no surprises" for airport operations. " It will be very much business as usual," he said.

SHOULD THE ADELAIDE AIRPORT CURFEW BE ABOLISHED? Have your say in the poll to the right of the page and in the comment box below.

"The white paper confirms that the current arrangements for the Adelaide Airport curfew will remain in place. There is reference to airports being required to set up planning co-ordination forums, but the white paper acknowledges that Adelaide already has regular formal contacts with the community on economic development, planning and environmental issues."

Federal Member for Hindmarsh Steve Georganas yesterday applauded the move for an aircraft noise ombudsman, adding that he has twice in the past five years introduced a private member's Bill to create such an ombudsman with support from his electorate, which takes in the airport. "This is a great win for residents of Adelaide's western suburbs and around the country," he said.

Mr Albanese said aviation safety and security was the Government's top priority, adding that using more fuel-efficient planes and better air traffic management would help reduce the industry's impact on the environment. Sydney residents reacted angrily to the Federal Government ruling out building a second airport at Badgery's Creek.

[skyliner]

I have noticed the omission of Adelaide in all kinds of things in the AFR as well. Same reaction as you BM7500, because we KNOW things arew happening here. Eg in Real estate/development areas, entertainment/music tours, economic overviews and interstate comparisons, the desal plant got 5 lines, Melb. desal plant several LONG articles.

SA - STATE ON THE MOVE

[Splashmo]

The White Paper effectivley rules out any changes to the Adelaide Airport curfew arrangements in the near future.

IMO a very near sighted and inhibiting move for the state....

It sounds like they've chosen the easiest option, which is to do nothing about extending a curfew to other airports, or removing existing curfews, to make it all level.

[Aidan]

The White Paper effectivley rules out any changes to the Adelaide Airport curfew arrangements in the near future.

IMO a very near sighted and inhibiting move for the state....

It sounds like they've chosen the easiest option, which is to do nothing about extending a curfew to other airports, or removing existing curfews, to make it all level.

And that's exactly what they should do. Airport curfews are a state issue.

[Aidan]

Aviation White Paper summary here: http://www.anthonyalbanese.com.au/file. ... index.html

Aviation White Paper in full here: http://www.infrastructure.gov.au/aviati ... index.aspx

Having looked at it, I'm unimpressed. If they really want to get more flights to regional airports, cabotage (allowing domestic passengers on international flights) is what's needed. Without it, making extra stops in Australia is really a waste of fuel.

Instead the policy does not refer to Adelaide either as a gateway port or regional port. Therefore do you think Adelaide will even be on the radar for the airline planners?? If it was my airline business i would be routing my new services through the identified 'regional' ports first and onto a gateway port before i even looked at services to other cities.

If it was your airline business, you'd almost certainly run at a loss! Adelaide is a city of a million people, so of course it's on the radar for airline planners. Whereas if you routed your new service to a bigger airport, you'd be up against more competition, and if you made an extra stop in a regional airport then your costs would be higher.

Also the restrictions of how much the airlines can fly to Australia's biggest airports generally only apply to airlines from countries that impose restrictions on Australia's airlines accessing their airports.

[skyliner]

FYI Aiden, without getting pedantic. our pop. (Adelaide Statistical Division) est. for mid 2009 is 1.172m - info via ABS. The important observation here is that finally our pop. is moving up after the huge slowdown - AND the recent trend is far more attractive to airlines.

SA - STATE ON THE MOVE

[Splashmo]

And that's exactly what they should do. Airport curfews are a state issue.

So why is a federal government white paper ruling the removal of the curfew out?
What are the reasons they have given for not lifting the curfew?

[bm7500]

Aiden, firstly curfew regulations are NOT a state issue. They are regulated by the Federal Goverment and that is why airlines need to contact the Department of Anthony Albanese directly to obtain takeoff/landing clearance inside curfew hours.

Secondly, i never said that if i had an airline i wouldn't fly to Adelaide. Its just that there is little incentive for an airline to come here first because we dont have the population of most of the other capital cities, and because the Feds dont class us as a 'regional' location either, so there is no benefit (in terms of a 'free sector') from flying via Adelaide. So really in terms of the white paper, Adelaide is really in limbo land so to speak.

Oh and thats rubbish about losing money if i had an airline..... I have my own on Facebook's Airline Manager (Aus Jet) and I have 250 aircraft and a company worth over 3.5bn

[bm7500]

Approval of Adelaide Airport’s 2009 Master Plan

The Hon Anthony Albanese MP
The Minister for Infrastructure, Transport,
Regional Development and Local Government
Leader of the House
Member for Grayndler

December 22 2009

I have approved Adelaide Airport’s 2009 Master Plan which establishes its future direction and investment program.

The Master Plan outlines the expansion of aviation and passenger facilities at the airport, including a new charter terminal, air traffic control tower, multi-level car park and hotel, road modifications, and relocation of freight handling facilities.

The curfew arrangements at Adelaide Airport will remain in place, providing the community respite from aircraft noise at night.

Following the release of the Rudd Labor Government’s National Aviation Policy Statement, as well as the Master Plan consultation process, Adelaide Airport will strengthen its engagement with state and local governments and the community.

This improved engagement includes:

* better integration with state and local planning by extending public commentary periods for development assessments and extending notification of all airport developments to neighbouring land owners;
* better management of aircraft noise impacts by working with the South Australian Government to incorporate aircraft noise contours into land use planning as a protection against inappropriate developments; and
* working with state and local governments to minimise traffic impacts by reviewing progressively airport access arrangements ahead of any major airport developments.

Further, I have specifically asked Adelaide Airport to conduct regular consultations with the City of West Torrens on planning and development matters, in addition to existing arrangements through its Airport Consultative Committee.

Adelaide Airport contributes over $1.6 billion to the South Australian economy and supports over 16,500 direct and indirect jobs.

Adelaide Airport has 50 business days to make this five-yearly Master Plan public.

http://www.anthonyalbanese.com.au/file. ... index.html

[AG]

Airport development plan gets federal blessing
STUART INNES
December 23, 2009 12:01am

FEDERAL Transport Minister Anthony Albanese has approved Adelaide Airport's master plan.

It covers the expansion of aviation and passenger facilities, including a multi-level car park and hotel, road modifications and a new charter operators' terminal - as revealed in The Advertiser this month.

The master plan was prepared before the Federal Government's aviation policy White Paper handed down last week.

It is the first such airport plan approved following the policy's release.

Adelaide Airport Ltd managing director Phil Baker yesterday welcomed the approval and said the plan provided a framework for the coming 20 years.

The plan would allow Adelaide Airport to increase capacity to meet predicted demand and achieve the best economic benefit for South Australia.

[bm7500]

Qantas to Restore Domestic Capacity and Increase Adelaide-Brisbane Services

Sydney, 21 December 2009

Qantas announced today that, as a result of improving demand, it would begin increasing capacity across a range of domestic routes from 29 March 2010.

Qantas Chief Executive Officer, Mr Alan Joyce, said the move would see the airline add more than 340,000 seats over the following 12 months, as it restored capacity removed in response to the economic downturn.

"We are seeing some improvements in domestic demand and so the time is right to begin restoring capacity to ensure we are well placed to meet that demand," Mr Joyce said.

"The changes will see the addition of a total 19 return services across selected routes, while capacity will be restored on others by upgrading from Boeing 737 to larger Boeing 767 aircraft.

"Combined with Jetstar's recently announced domestic growth plans for 2010, new routes for QantasLink, and the assessment of new growth opportunities for Qantas, the Qantas Group remains best placed in terms of offering customers multiple airlines, high frequency services, a genuinely comprehensive network and extremely competitive fares."

Additional services will be introduced on the following routes:
* Adelaide-Melbourne - 3 per week (currently 64 per week), 1,200 seats per week
* Brisbane-Sydney - 6 per week (currently 140 per week), 2,016 seats per week
* Brisbane-Townsville - 3 per week (currently 33 per week), 912 seats per week
* Melbourne-Perth - 1 per week (currently 45 per week), 288 seats per week
* Sydney-Ayers Rock# - 1 per week (currently 7 per week), 336 seats per week
Upgraded Services * Brisbane-Cairns - six per week, 912 seats per week
* Brisbane-Melbourne - six per week, 912 seats per week

# seasonal July-October 2010

Mr Joyce said Qantas would also increase existing daily Cityflyer services between Adelaide and Brisbane.

"From 29 December, we will add four B737 services per week to the current 20, increasing capacity by 20 per cent, or nearly 70,000 seats per year, on this key inter-city route," he said.

"We will continue to monitor demand with a view to restoring further capacity at the appropriate time."

Issued by Qantas Corporate Communication (3999)
Email: [email protected]

[bm7500]

Another poorly worded article from Adelaide Now, but you get the idea...

Holiday flight grows by 37pc

THE flight between Adelaide and holiday playground the Gold Coast is growing faster than any other in Australia.

Fuelled by cheap flights, the number of passengers travelling between the two cities rose by 37 per cent in November compared to the same time last year.

Latest research shows the route between Adelaide and Canberra also grew - by nearly 17 per cent for the same period.

The Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics figures show Australia's busiest route - between Melbourne and Sydney - got even busier, with the number of people travelling rising by 15 per cent.

Discount airfares hit a new low this month as low-cost airlines cut promotional prices by up to half, according to the Government's domestic airfare index.

The route between Adelaide and Melbourne was the fifth busiest in the country, while Adelaide to Sydney was the sixth busiest.

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au

[Ho Really]

Anyone know why a Singapore Airlines flight left Adelaide approximately 9:15 this morning? It didn't look like it was headed to Singapore as it went straight on, I assume to Sydney. This was a couple of minutes after the scheduled Qantas A330 to Melbourne (SIN-ADL-MEL). I doubt it was a freighter as it looked like an A333. Their regular daily flight from/to Singapore arrived on time and was at the terminal as I logged on.

Cheers

[monotonehell]

Anyone know why a Singapore Airlines flight left Adelaide approximately 9:15 this morning? It didn't look like it was headed to Singapore as it went straight on, I assume to Sydney. This was a couple of minutes after the scheduled Qantas A330 to Melbourne (SIN-ADL-MEL). I doubt it was a freighter as it looked like an A333. Their regular daily flight from/to Singapore arrived on time and was at the terminal as I logged on.

Cheers

How do you know what direction it took?

Must have been a transfer or charter? They don't have scheduled flights that early.

[Pikey]

I noticed a travel ad in the Sunday mail that Etihad have some flights out of Adelaide. Excuse my ignorance but I had no idea Etihad had entered the SA market?