News & Discussion: Adelaide Airport & Airlines

[skyliner]

Good point.

SA - STATE ON THE MOVE

[Ho Really]

[...]

Adelaide Airport Ltd managing director Phil Baker was...Asked about additional international carriers coming to Adelaide, he said "We are very close to one or two; and also one or two we have been close to are moving away.

[...]

Strange, no comments from anyone regarding this? Wouldn't want to see either Malaysia, Singapore or Cathay Pacific go. Maybe it will be Air New Zealand that will go after Virgin Blue's announcement it's planning to create an alliance with the kiwis on the trans-Tasman market (see article below). If that's true it will be sad to see them go, but I would rather that than lose the asian air carriers. Any thoughts on what Phil Baker meant?

Cheers

AIR NZ, VIRGIN BLUE PROPOSE TRANS-TASMAN TIE-UP
May 3, 2010

National carrier Air New Zealand and Australian airline Virgin Blue said they were seeking regulator approval for a trans-Tasman alliance to strengthen their positions in a fiercely-contested market.

The tie-up would involve extensive sharing of services, but neither company would seek an equity stake in the other, the two airlines said in a joint statement on Monday.

"Our alliance is about working closely together to give customers cheaper fares, increased frequency and better connections, while delivering improved returns," Air New Zealand chief executive Rob Fyfe said.

Shares in Air New Zealand, around three-quarters owned by the NZ government, last traded steady at NZD$1.36 while Virgin Blue was 3.4 percent lower at AUD$0.575.

A decision by regulators in New Zealand and Australia on the move is expected to take six months.

The two airlines would code share on flights between the two countries and connecting domestic services. They would also cooperate on passenger lounges and frequent flier schemes.

The airlines' respective domestic-only flights and the Pacific services would not be included in the deal.

Fyfe said the move would allow Air NZ to compete more effectively against Australian national carrier Qantas, which flies between the two countries under its own name and also as budget carrier, Jetstar.

Air New Zealand and Qantas proposed a similar trans-Tasman alliance in 2003, but finally scrapped the plan in 2006 after competition regulators in both countries came out against it.

Eleven airlines currently fly between the two countries. Air NZ has around 38 percent share, Qantas and Jetstar about 32 percent, and Virgin's Pacific Blue 18 percent, according to figures from the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation.

Last month Air NZ said it had cut capacity on its Australian and Pacific services by nearly 8 percent on a year earlier to counter lower passenger numbers.

Reuters

also...

Virgin Blue to rejig product
May 4, 2010

Virgin Blue will look to closely align its product with Air New Zealand should their proposed deal gain regulatory approval.

Chief executive Brett Godfrey said the focus would be on aligning product “as close as we possibly can”, though there are expected to be some differences. He pointed to the roll-out of Premium Economy on the Pacific Blue fleet as something that will continue.

Meanwhile, Godfrey said it remains on the lookout for more codeshare partners, though none of the same scale as the proposed Air NZ deal. He said the joint venture with Air NZ had been given the green light by incoming boss John Borghetti.

And he said there are still no plans to join an airline alliance, despite Virgin Blue aligning itself with SkyTeam member Delta Air Lines and Star Alliance member Air NZ.

“We have looked at this for a long time and we will continue to do so,” Godfrey said.

But he said the airline had yet to see the “overriding benefits” of an alliance, pointing to the success of Emirates as the best example of a non-aligned carrier.

Travel Weekly

[yousername]

[...]
Adelaide Airport Ltd managing director Phil Baker was...Asked about additional international carriers coming to Adelaide, he said "We are very close to one or two; and also one or two we have been close to are moving away.
[...]

Strange, no comments from anyone regarding this? Wouldn't want to see either Malaysia, Singapore or Cathay Pacific go. Maybe it will be Air New Zealand that will go after Virgin Blue's announcement it's planning to create an alliance with the kiwis on the trans-Tasman market (see article below). If that's true it will be sad to see them go, but I would rather that than lose the asian air carriers. Any thoughts on what Phil Baker meant?

Cheers

I thought he was talking about having been in talks with up to four carriers to start routes to ADL - two of which have decided against coming here.

[muzzamo]

I thought he was talking about having been in talks with up to four carriers to start routes to ADL - two of which have decided against coming here.

I'm hoping AirAsia are on the way.. cheap flights to KL (and hence to onward destinations) would be killer

[bm7500]

I'm still suprised that Emirates havent flagged that they are coming here yet. They now have the new A380's and 777's coming online and this frees up the A340's to do a non-stop Dubai to Adelaide service. Adelaide is still the only major capital city to be without an Emirates service.

I know we dont have the population base as Melbourne but they get 3 Emirates services a Day!! Surley they could manage a thrice weekly service here and could even run it via Darwin

[Maximus]

[...]

Adelaide Airport Ltd managing director Phil Baker was...Asked about additional international carriers coming to Adelaide, he said "We are very close to one or two; and also one or two we have been close to are moving away.

[...]

Strange, no comments from anyone regarding this?

Yeah, I thought it was strange too. And disappointing -- I was the one who posted the article! Geez, you go to the trouble of giving people some information, and waddya get?! Nix, nought, nothing... Haha, just kidding. Anyways, I digress...

I thought he was talking about having been in talks with up to four carriers to start routes to ADL - two of which have decided against coming here.

Yeah, that would be my reading of it too.

I'm still suprised that Emirates havent flagged that they are coming here yet. They now have the new A380's and 777's coming online and this frees up the A340's to do a non-stop Dubai to Adelaide service. Adelaide is still the only major capital city to be without an Emirates service.

I know we dont have the population base as Melbourne but they get 3 Emirates services a Day!! Surley they could manage a thrice weekly service here and could even run it via Darwin

If we work on the maths that Melbourne's population is roughly 3 times bigger than ours, then that definitely makes sense.

Airlines from Asia, the Middle-East and The Americas were being talked to about coming to Adelaide.

Surely from Asia, Bangkok is the next logical destination to come online for Adelaide. I think someone mentioned before that we're the only major capital not serviced by Thai Airways. Flights to Japan would be nice too, but I wouldn't hold my breath. As for The Americas... A United route: LAX-SYD-ADL???

[Aidan]

I'm still suprised that Emirates havent flagged that they are coming here yet. They now have the new A380's and 777's coming online and this frees up the A340's to do a non-stop Dubai to Adelaide service. Adelaide is still the only major capital city to be without an Emirates service.

I know we dont have the population base as Melbourne but they get 3 Emirates services a Day!! Surley they could manage a thrice weekly service here and could even run it via Darwin

Why Darwin? It would be an enormous detour, and the current government policy wouldn't even allow cabotage.

ISTR Auckland via Adelaide is what they had planned, but they were preempted by Air New Zealand.

Surely from Asia, Bangkok is the next logical destination to come online for Adelaide. I think someone mentioned before that we're the only major capital not serviced by Thai Airways. Flights to Japan would be nice too, but I wouldn't hold my breath. As for The Americas... A United route: LAX-SYD-ADL???

No American airline would waste money running half empty aircraft between Sydney and Adelaide, nor by making its Sydney passengers detour via Adelaide in one direction.

Do we know which airlines were at the Routes Asia forum?

[bm7500]

I'm still suprised that Emirates havent flagged that they are coming here yet. They now have the new A380's and 777's coming online and this frees up the A340's to do a non-stop Dubai to Adelaide service. Adelaide is still the only major capital city to be without an Emirates service.

I know we dont have the population base as Melbourne but they get 3 Emirates services a Day!! Surley they could manage a thrice weekly service here and could even run it via Darwin

Why Darwin? It would be an enormous detour, and the current government policy wouldn't even allow cabotage.

ISTR Auckland via Adelaide is what they had planned, but they were preempted by Air New Zealand.

Because going via Darwin would allow them to pickup extra pax! In this case Cabotage would only prevent passengers from starting and finishing the same journey within Australia, but it is allowed to embark passengers in a second Australian port on the way to a foreign destination ie Passengers can travel Adelaide - Dubai or Darwin - Dubai but not Adelaide to Darwin. It may be enough to make the service viable and this would not be as 'out of their way' if they were going to Singapore or KL (the other 2 Emirates routes out of Melbourne) Not saying they should, just saying its an option.

TBH, i would rather see them go Dubai direct or on a triangular route ex Melbourne.

[Aidan]

I'm still suprised that Emirates havent flagged that they are coming here yet. They now have the new A380's and 777's coming online and this frees up the A340's to do a non-stop Dubai to Adelaide service. Adelaide is still the only major capital city to be without an Emirates service.

I know we dont have the population base as Melbourne but they get 3 Emirates services a Day!! Surley they could manage a thrice weekly service here and could even run it via Darwin

Why Darwin? It would be an enormous detour, and the current government policy wouldn't even allow cabotage.

ISTR Auckland via Adelaide is what they had planned, but they were preempted by Air New Zealand.

Because going via Darwin would allow them to pickup extra pax! In this case Cabotage would only prevent passengers from starting and finishing the same journey within Australia, but it is allowed to embark passengers in a second Australian port on the way to a foreign destination ie Passengers can travel Adelaide - Dubai or Darwin - Dubai but not Adelaide to Darwin. It may be enough to make the service viable and this would not be as 'out of their way' if they were going to Singapore or KL (the other 2 Emirates routes out of Melbourne) Not saying they should, just saying its an option.

It would be more out of the way than Singapore or KL!

Darwin is a small city with a low population. It already has flights to Singapore, so passengers are already able to get to Dubai fairly easily, and it will probably soon have flights to KL as well.

TBH, i would rather see them go Dubai direct or on a triangular route ex Melbourne.

Direct is the best option. Triangular routes waste fuel.

[Splashmo]

Keep in mind that the government has now allowed carriers to fly additional services into the "big four" (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth) if they go via a regional port (Adelaide, Cairns, Darwin etc.) which makes it more likely that Emirates and other Arab carriers will consider Adelaide. While someone said triangular services waste fuel, these types of triangular services would have advantages for the carriers that want to increase their Australian operations. And it's not as if you can't refuel at the second or third airport.

Adelaide has no Emirates but we also have no services to Thailand, and that's something I think we will see change in the near future.

[bm7500]

Keep in mind that the government has now allowed carriers to fly additional services into the "big four" (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth) if they go via a regional port (Adelaide, Cairns, Darwin etc.) which makes it more likely that Emirates and other Arab carriers will consider Adelaide. While someone said triangular services waste fuel, these types of triangular services would have advantages for the carriers that want to increase their Australian operations. And it's not as if you can't refuel at the second or third airport.

Spot on Splashmo!

[Maximus]

No American airline would waste money running half empty aircraft between Sydney and Adelaide, nor by making its Sydney passengers detour via Adelaide in one direction.

I totally agree. But it's fun to dream!

Still, Phil Baker mentioned talking to airlines from "The Americas". Who do you think he might have been referring to?

[bm7500]

No American airline would waste money running half empty aircraft between Sydney and Adelaide, nor by making its Sydney passengers detour via Adelaide in one direction.

I totally agree. But it's fun to dream!

Still, Phil Baker mentioned talking to airlines from "The Americas". Who do you think he might have been referring to?

Most likley Delta with their 777-200LR's

[Paulns]

Proposed Multi Level Car Park, Pedestrian Plaza and Associated Road Works

http://www.aal.com.au/lib/pdf/MDP5_10Chapter1-4.pdf

[kenget]

Proposed Multi Level Car Park, Pedestrian Plaza and Associated Road Works

http://www.aal.com.au/lib/pdf/MDP5_10Chapter1-4.pdf

Nice find.. no hotel though