News & Discussion: Adelaide Airport & Airlines

[muzzamo]

Qantas and Emirates have announced a massive partnership.

Alan Joyce has said that Singapore/Hong Kong will cease being the primary stopover for the Kangaroo Route on Qantas. This will mean timing the flights to Singapore & Hong Kong to allow same day connections to Asia instead of good timing to London.

To me this means they are either going to withdraw from Adelaide all together or modify the timing to depart Adelaide in the mornings.

[Maximus]

To me this means they are either going to withdraw from Adelaide all together or modify the timing to depart Adelaide in the mornings.

They've said the arrangement will allow for an "increase in frequency" to Singapore and Hong Kong, so it might be that we actually see the Qantas service to Singapore become <gasp> daily. Perhaps even, dare I suggest it, a Hong Kong service also.

Of course, the down-side to the arrangement is that passengers from Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane will no longer be able to fly one-stop to London all the way on a Qantas plane. QF planes will only go to Dubai from Sydney and Melbourne.

[bm7500]

Qantas and Emirates have announced a massive partnership.

Alan Joyce has said that Singapore/Hong Kong will cease being the primary stopover for the Kangaroo Route on Qantas. This will mean timing the flights to Singapore & Hong Kong to allow same day connections to Asia instead of good timing to London.

To me this means they are either going to withdraw from Adelaide all together or modify the timing to depart Adelaide in the mornings.

It's not yet clear if the current QF81/82 service will remain or it will be sacrificed in the shake up. The important thing to remember is that Singapore is still a destination for Qantas but there will be no connecting flights to Europe from April next year.

[Ho Really]

Just for the record...

Qantas set for Europe return

Qantas is hopeful its new far-reaching 10-year partnership with Emirates will result in the resurrection of its former European network, chief executive Alan Joyce has revealed.

The much-anticipated partnership was confirmed this morning with codeshares, joint pricing, sales and scheduling and frequent flyer benefits forming part of the deal.

Joyce described the alliance as the “biggest arrangement Qantas has ever entered into with another airline”.

“It's far bigger than a codeshare or even a joint services agreement,” he said.

Speaking at a media briefing in Sydney, Joyce described the tie-up as a “springboard” to start growing services into Europe with a range of opportunities in the future provided by 787.

The alliance will start in April 2013 pending approval by competition regulators and will open up 30 European cities for Qantas via the Middle East and give Emirates better reach into regional Australia.

Emirates president Tim Clark said the deal was not solely concerned with growing the gulf carrier’s business into Australia.

“It’s about in the future, Qantas growing its own metal over Dubai into points in Europe and reentry into those cities that it served many, many years ago,” he said.

However, Joyce confirmed the airline will withdraw its operations to Frankfurt - it’s last route into mainland Europe.

But he asserted the airline’s commitment to continuing to serve London.

Under the alliance, Qantas will shift its hub for European flights from Singapore to Dubai.

It will launch daily A380 flights to London via Dubai from Sydney and Melbourne and will become the only airline beyond Emirates to use Dubai’s Terminal 3 which was purpose built for A380s.

In total, the alliance will operate 14 daily Boeing 777 and A380 flights from Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney to Dubai.

Both airlines confirmed there would be no exchange of slots.

Despite the hub shift to Dubai, Joyce stressed Qantas remained focused on Asia and will increase “dedicated capacity to Singapore” Flights to both Singapore and Hong Kong will be re-timed to enable more same day connections across Asia.

Joyce also signalled changes to aircraft types deployed to Asia and anticipated a “significant improvement” in the economics of its Asian operations.

“Our Asian services will no longer be a subsidiary of the Kangaroo route. They will be dedicated to connecting Australians to our region and Asian visitors to Australia.”

Meanwhile, plans to upgrade the premium lounges at Hong Kong, Singapore and Los Angeles will continue as planned.

Joyce said the alliance will also benefit regional Australia.

“Regional Australians are used to multi-stop journeys to Europe and home again,” he said. “From April next year, for regional travellers it’s just two stops to the heart of Europe.”

Travel Today

As you see from the statement here Singapore and Hong Kong will continue to be hubs for Asia. So I doubt very much that Adelaide will lose its flights to Singapore but rather they should be bolstered (in my opinion) and the times tweaked for better Asian connections (as mentioned above).

As for the old 'Kangaroo Route', it will be now known as the 'Falcon Route' in honour of the UAE's national symbol.

Cheers

[muzzamo]

It's not yet clear if the current QF81/82 service will remain or it will be sacrificed in the shake up. The important thing to remember is that Singapore is still a destination for Qantas but there will be no connecting flights to Europe from April next year.

Logically, it will be up against Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Cathay, all with their extensive connections to South East Asia and North Asia respectively.

Qantas will have practically zero connections out of Singapore on Qantas metal. At the moment the QF81/82 service exists almost exclusively to feed to Kangaroo Route, which won't exist anymore.

I think they will either drop it, or Jetstar it. Converting it to Jetstar would give them a head start over Scoot and AirAsiaX in bringing an international LCC to Adelaide.

If they leave it as Qantas, while it will be possible to transfer from Qantas to Jetstar in Singapore, this is far from the preferred option, particularly for Business travelers etc. Many or most will go with Malaysia/Singapore/Cathay instead.

A Jetstar Adelaide to Singapore flight would feed into their extensive Jetstar Asia network and generate new growth in its own right, perhaps up to a daily service in the future.

[bm7500]

Word is (from a VERY reliable source) that QF81/82 will be axed!

[Ho Really]

Looks like BA are going to mirror Qantas. The Financial Times have reported its parent company IAG has been in discussions with three airlines over the possibility of an Asian-focused partnership. Rumours are that airline is Qatar Airways. Asia sure is the centre of future growth...

Cheers

PS. I wouldn't put it past Qatar eventually coming to Adelaide...give them 12-18 months?

[ChillyPhilly]

Qatar, who else...

[Ho Really]

Qatar, who else...

My money is on China Southern first then Qatar. For other contenders (like China Eastern, Etihad...etc.) see a previous post of mine.

Cheers

P.S. There's been mention of Garuda here by several posters. In fact they are slowly getting better as an airline. As said...give them time. Thai Airways is another. Flights to Bangkok anyone? Stefan P mentioned direct flights to the USA and India. Maybe flights to Hawaii first then continental USA? Not sure which airline would go direct. India is an interesting proposition, they could easily become a stepping stone to Europe (as in a hub), like the Gulf States, but their infrastructure isn't comparable (lacking in other words). To attract Indian airlines to Adelaide the Indian population needs to keep growing and the airlines themselves (Air India, Jet Airways and possibly even IndiGo) would need to pick up their game.

[rogue]

Qantas' direct NZ flights back on table

Stuart Innes

September 11, 20129:33AM

ADELAIDE is set to get more international flights as a result of the proposed Qantas-Emirates partnership - Qantas confirming yesterday it was seeking approval to reinstate Auckland-Adelaide services.

Qantas flew three times a week non-stop between Auckland and Adelaide from December 2004 until July 2007 using Boeing 737s, but withdrew after declaring the route unviable.

However, it was learnt yesterday that Qantas is seeking regulatory approval from the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission to again service that route non-stop.

The Advertiser has learnt that Qantas has calculated that the extra passenger traffic it would pick up from the partnership with Emirates - announced last week by chief executive Alan Joyce - can make the route viable.

The number of proposed services a week and the aircraft type and seat numbers are not yet known.

But Qantas is hoping for a go-ahead from the ACCC so it can start Auckland flights from Adelaide in April.

Air New Zealand flies the route five times a week as the only airline to offer a non-stop service between South Australia and New Zealand, Australia's main inbound tourism market.

SA tourism businesses this year have reported growth and strong interest from NZ travellers.

Emirates will begin flying from Dubai to Adelaide four times a week from November 1 and plans daily flights from February.

When announcing its partnership with Emirates last week, Qantas said there would be no change to the three Adelaide-Singapore flights a week it runs.

In Canberra yesterday, Singapore's Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang said the island state would be affected by Qantas's decision to move its regional hub to Dubai but says it can replace the passenger flows.

Qantas's change of direction was a commercial decision.

"Of course (it) will have some impact on us," Mr Lim said.

"But at the same time, there are air slots that Qantas can use and the air traffic in Asia and South-East Asia is growing."

"So what we may lose in terms of the European flow, we hope to rebuild again."

http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/business/ ... 6471629620

[bm7500]

That's some positive news both in terms of the re-instated NZ services and the retention of the thrice weekly SIN service.

[Stefan P]

Morning all,

Emirates will be operating a charter to Adelaide today, The aircraft will arrive from Melbourne at 1030, and depart back to Melbourne around 1430.

This charter I understand will be used for promotional reasons, showing the aircraft to the government, tourism SA etc... In time for their new flights which start in just over 1 month.

[Port Adelaide Fan]

Emirates to start Adelaide service in November

GIANT airline Emirates gave a taste of what's to come when a brand new Boeing 777-300ER touched down at Adelaide Airport today to promote its four-times a week service, starting here November 1.

The big plane received the ritual water-cannon welcome from fire trucks as the airline made its debut call.

Salem Obaidalla, Emirates senior vice-president of commercial operations in the Far East and Australasia, came from the airline's base in Dubai for a lavish welcome attended by 250 airport VIPs.

more

[claybro]

Awsome news. Was at the airport tonight and used the carpark for the first time. Was really impressed by the outcome of this developement. Leaving the terminal now you get the feeling you are in a capital city, and not some regional country town. Once the forecourt is complete I think this will be an impressive arrival point for Adelaide, modern and functional.

[skyliner]

My impression also.(Used the airport on 20th). Very classy setup without confusion for users.

ADELAIDE - TOWARDS A GREATER CITY SKYLINE