Qantas clears B747-400 fleet after power failure

SYDNEY, Jan 11 (Reuters) - Qantas Airways Ltd said on Friday it had checked and cleared all 30 of its B747-400 aircraft after one lost electrical power while on a flight from London to Bangkok and was forced to use auxiliary power to land.

The B747-400 aircraft with more than 300 people on board landed safely on Monday after automatically reverting to standby battery power.

Qantas said it was working with airline manufacturer Boeing and Australian aviation safety officials to determine "the root cause of the accident".

It said an initial investigation found that the power loss occurred after a cracked drip tray above electrical equipment let water enter an electrical bay where it caused several components to malfunction.

Qantas Executive General Manager John Borghetti said in a statement that the airline had checked the systems and equipment on all 30 of its B747-400 aircraft and "the entire fleet had been cleared to fly".

Borghetti dismissed as "unhelpful" speculation by engineers, pilots, commentators and airline union officials about whether the power loss could have been disastrous if it happened further out over sea.

"Regardless of some of the more colourful claims being made about Qantas engineering standards, the truth is that Qantas has one of the world's leading engineering operations," he "As always, safety is our prime concern."

Qantas has one of the aviation world's best safety records.

Cheap seats hit turbulence
12 January 2008
The Sydney Morning Herald

Rising fuel prices have slashed the savings that airlines were passing on to passengers. Clive Dorman reports.

The low-cost revolution in Australian air travel has hit the wall: despite the emergence of Virgin Blue in 2000 and Jetstar in 2004, airfares in real terms are as high as they've been this decade.

This is the finding of research conducted by the Federal Government's Bureau of Transport Regional Economics.

The bureau began measuring airfares - not just full fares but also the best available discounts on the most-travelled routes - in July 2003, just under a year before Jetstar began deep discounting on the country's most popular holiday routes.

For a while, things looked promising, with the fares we'd been paying in the national network steadily falling. But in the past few months, the trend has been steeply upwards.

In December, according to the bureau's figures, you shouldn't have been in the market for anything but essential travel. The best available discount was 15 per cent dearer than it was four years ago, when the survey started, and the so-called rolling average of best discount fares had also passed the 2003 mark.

There's no doubt about what's driving the hike: the price of aviation fuel has quadrupled in the past five years. The kerosene that runs jet engines is now more than $1 a litre on the open market. It used to be 25 cents.

In other words, the massive gains made by the airline business in the past five years in increasing efficiency and lowering costs - which were being passed on to consumers as lower fares - are being sucked out of the industry as profits for the oil companies.

But there are also new trends emerging about how airfares fluctuate. The research suggests, for example, that the days of super-high prices around the major holiday periods have returned with a vengeance.

Fuelled by strong demand - annual growth in domestic air travel is running about 7 per cent and the average number of seats filled on every plane is averaging an astronomically high 85 per cent - the cheap seats run out early in the busy periods and those who wish to travel have to take what's left at whatever price is offered.

However, the main business routes, such as Melbourne to Sydney (which carries about 20 per cent of the nation's air traffic), are where the average fares being paid are highest, while key holiday routes continue to offer excellent value at most times of the year.

Melbourne and Sydney to the Gold Coast, for example, are on sale at the moment for under $100 and $50 one-way, respectively. Melbourne to the Gold Coast, in particular, is rarely going to cost more than $200 return, all-inclusive, since there are now three carriers on the route, Jetstar, Virgin and Tiger.

With four carriers now on the Melbourne-Perth route (the three above and Qantas), the fare there is now rarely above $400 return.

The asterisk in both cases, however, concerns school holidays. The bureau's fare-tracking shows that, in the past year in particular, fares rocket when school's out.

The only relief is that airlines now have at least 10 major annual seat sales, where once it was only three or four. Register with the various airline websites to enhance your chance to travel cheaply.

Qantas eyes late fees after Boeing 787 setback

SYDNEY/TOKYO, Jan 17 (Reuters) - Australia's Qantas Airways said on Thursday it would seek compensation from Boeing Co over delay of the 787 Dreamliner, a step it took with Airbus after the A380 superjumbo was late.

The 787 suffered its second setback when Boeing announced on Wednesday that it was pushing back the programme a further three months, making the plane about nine months behind its original schedule.

Qantas said it could claim for damages in certain circumstances and would discuss the issue with Boeing in coming weeks.

Japan's All Nippon Airways Co (ANA) , which is set to receive the very first 787, said it would not seek compensation.

A380 DELAY

Boeing rival Airbus ran two years behind with its doubledecker A380 and Qantas Chief Executive Geoff Dixon was a vocal critic, pressing Airbus for 104 million Australian dollars ($92 million) in compensation.

"We will be discussing the issue of liquidated damages with Boeing in the coming weeks," Dixon said in a statement on Thursday.

Qantas and its low-cost subsidiary Jetstar plan to use the planes to expand on Asia-Pacific routes.

Qantas now does not expect its first Dreamliner to be delivered to Jetstar before May 2009 and said it was reviewing contingencies.

"In the meantime, we will look at a range of options including revised retirement dates for some of our aircraft, re-allocating existing capacity and potential schedule adjustments," Dixon said.

Qantas has on order 65 of the Boeing planes worth about $8 billion, with options and rights to buy 50 more.

Just as Airbus pushed the limits with the mammoth A380, Boeing's mid-sized 787 is breaking new ground, using unprecedented levels of lightweight composites and relying on a network of global firms to build major parts of it.

Boeing said on Wednesday that the 787's delay was related to issues involving some of that outsourced production.

Qantas said the 787's delay would not impact its earnings or strategy.

ANA is studying the possible impact on its business, ANA spokeswoman Kyoko Yamane said.

ANA had been scheduled to get its first 787 in late November or December, six months back from the original target of May.

There is no change in its plan to buy 50 Dreamliner aircraft, ANA's Yamane said.

Boeing announced the 787's first setback, a six-month delay, in October.

US CARRIERS DISAPPOINTED

The two U.S. airlines which have ordered 787 Dreamliners expressed disappointment over potentially costly delays on the new plane, but did not mention compensation payments.

Continental Airlines and Northwest Airlines , which are both planning to use the fuel-efficient, long-haul plane on key routes to Asia, will now be forced to find temporary alternatives.

"Clearly, (the delay) will make for a tough summer for us in 2009," said Continental Chief Executive Larry Kellner, on a conference call on Thursday.

Continental was due to receive its first 787s in 2009 and use them on routes to China, but the delayed delivery will force Continental to pull planes off other routes, he said.

"We will have some challenges short term -- we recognize those -- and we'll work through those with Boeing for the long term," Kellner said.

Northwest, which is hoping to be the first U.S. airline to put the 787 in service, originally expected deliveries to start in August 2008, but will now likely have to wait for a further nine months.

"We are very disappointed by Boeing's announcement but we're hopeful that Boeing will address the problems with the 787 production expeditiously and be in a position to provide us with a reliable delivery schedule," a Northwest spokesman said.

US, Australia agree to drop restrictions on air service between the 2 countries
15 February 2008

SYDNEY, Australia (AP) - Australia and the United States have agreed to drop restrictions on air service between the two countries, clearing the way for increased competition on one of the world's most lucrative and protected long-haul routes.

The bilateral agreement abolishes all restrictions on U.S. and Australian air services for carriers of both countries, ending a virtual duopoly on the route held by Qantas and UAL Corp.'s United Airlines. Qantas controls 75 percent of the market share on the Australia-U.S. route, from which it derives around 15 percent of its net profit.

The deal will allow Australian carrier Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd. to begin flights to the United States by the end of the year -- but leaves Singapore Airlines Ltd., which has long coveted the route, still without access.

It would also "provide certainty" for Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd. and its budget offshoot Jetstar, allowing them to widen the network of American cities they currently serve, Australian Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said in a statement.

U.S. carriers Delta Air Lines Inc. and Continental Airlines Inc. said they have no immediate plans to add service to Australia.

"However, as we continue to build on our robust international network, we continue to closely monitor markets worldwide and stand ready to take advantage of the right opportunities," said Delta spokeswoman Betsy Talton.

A spokesperson for Northwest Airlines Corp. had no immediate comment, and AMR Corp.'s American Airlines could not immediately be reached for comment.

The agreement comes after three days of negotiations in Washington and will take effect once formal approval from the U.S. and Australian governments is granted.

"Airlines from both countries will be allowed to select routes and destinations based on consumer demand, without limitations on the number of U.S. or Australian carriers that can fly between the two countries or the number of flights they can operate," a U.S. Department of Transport statement said.

"The agreement also removes restrictions on capacity and pricing, and provides opportunities for cooperative marketing arrangements, including code-sharing, between U.S. and Australian carriers," it said.

The agreement only applies to American and Australian carriers.

The Australian government last year denied Singapore Airlines' request to start services in the corridor on the grounds that opening up the route to the Asian carrier would bring only minor tourism benefits and could hurt the economy. The carrier had hoped a change in government in Australia last November would see a softening of opposition to its ambitions.

Singapore Airlines said that hope had been squelched by Friday's agreement.

"The agreement to liberalise for Australian and American carriers on the U.S. route is long overdue," Stephen Forshaw, Singapore Airlines's vice president for public affairs said in a statement. "But it is only half a step."

The company repeated its accusation that the Australian government was unfairly protecting Qantas from competition by denying Singapore Airlines access to the trans-Pacific route.

Qantas Chief Executive Geoff Dixon welcomed the agrement and said the airline would increase its flights on the route to 51 a week from March from 48 a week now.

He urged the government to persue similar agreements with other countries.

"Further liberalization of air services arrangements with a number of countries if needed if Australian carriers are to grow operations and match opportunities available to foreign competitors," Dixon said in a statement.

Virgin Blue, Australia's second-largest airline by revenue, wants to fly 10 Boeing 777-300ER services a week to the U.S. West Coast through its new international carrier, V Australia.

The airline last year got approval from the Australian government to add trans-Pacific routes, but an agreement with the U.S. was still needed.

"The new agreement will provide great opportunities for increasing trade and commercial links between Australia and the U.S.," Albanese said.

Shares in Qantas fell as investors mulled the increased competition threat but recovered some ground to finish 2.53 percent lower at 4.63 Australian dollars. Virgin Blue rose 2.76 percent to A$1.49.

--------

AP Business Writer John Wilen contributed to this report from New York.

^^

I'd love to see American Airlines fly to Australia since they're my favorite airline. :)

Australia's Virgin hopes to fly to Asia next year
17 February 2008

CANBERRA, Australia (AP) - Australian carrier Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd. hopes to launch flights into northern Asia in 2009 through its new international arm, V Australia, Chief Executive Brett Godfrey said Monday.

Godfrey said likely destinations included Japan, northern China and parts of south and Southeast Asia, which could be serviced by its current fleet.

"I think the ASEAN region is looking at opening up its borders among those member nations, so I think that's probably the next big opportunity," Godfrey told CNBC business television, referring to the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

He said Virgin Blue expects to lose between 50 million Australian dollars and A$80 million (US$45 million-US$73 million; euro31 million-euro50 million) in developing V Australia, adding that the startup costs would be funded out of working capital.

His comments come after Australia and the U.S. on Friday signed a bilateral "open skies" aviation agreement, clearing the way for Virgin Blue to continue its plan to begin flights to the United States by the end of 2008.

Qantas 1H profit doubles on strong passenger growth
21-02-2008:

SYDNEY: Qantas Airways Ltd, Australia's biggest airline, reported a doubling in its first-half earnings on Feb 21, driven by strong demand for air travel and by cost control.

Qantas, whose shareholders last year rejected a US$9 billion (RM29.43 billion) buyout bid, reported net profit of A$617.6 million (RM1.83 billion) for six months ended December, compared with A$307.5 in the same period a year earlier.

Five brokers surveyed by Reuters had estimated Qantas net profit to be A$569.5 million.

In December, Qantas raised its full-year pre-tax earnings forecast to 40%, from a 30% increase previously, on the back of soaring appetite for air travel.

Strength in Australian dollar has boosted demand for overseas travel, with analysts estimating a 10% rise in passenger revenue.

Qantas shares are down 20% in 2008, compared with a 13% fall in the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index. The shares are down about 40% from their life highs reached in December. -- Reuters

Their hedging strategies must be quite successful to weather through the high price of fuel so well.

Rising air fares won't fuel death of cheap travel
29 April 2008
The Age

THE most surprising thing about the rise in Qantas' domestic and international air fares is that it took so long.

The market had been expecting it for more than a month. Qantas said it was raising domestic and international fares by 3.5% and 3%, respectively.

Its shares rose 4¢ to $3.41, indicating that investors were satisfied that the move would not deter passengers.

Last month, BusinessDay reported a leaked email from Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon in which he issued a hiring freeze and warned staff to brace for a possible $1 billion blow-out in Qantas' fuel bill next financial year.

Since then, Air New Zealand, Regional Express and, at the weekend, Thai Airways and Viva Macau, have increased their fuel surcharges.

Qantas rival Virgin Blue said two weeks ago that unless jet fuel prices fell by the end of April it would have no choice but to raise one-way fares by between $10 and $12 from May 1. So, with jet fuel rising to a record $US144.49 a barrel last week in Singapore, a statement from Virgin Blue in the next few days seems a foregone conclusion.

Virgin Blue was punished by shareholders after its statement on fares, not because of the statement but the profit downgrade of about $76 million that accompanied it.

The stock plunged almost 22% in a single day.

But Qantas has managed to navigate through the turbulence, at least for now. Mr Dixon's statement to the market yesterday confirmed that the airline was on track to produce a gross profit at least 40% higher than last financial year.

While aviation analysts say that the sweet spot in the industry has probably turned sour, few are suffering from "Chicken Little" syndrome.

Aviation expert Tom Ballantyne said the spate of fare increases should not be considered the death rattle of low air fares.

"Everyone gets a little excited when airlines put up their fares but this wasn't unexpected and the sky is not falling in as such," he said. "Times are going to be a bit tougher for the aviation industry globally and you have to remember it isn't just the fuel price that is going up but other expenses as well.

"The airlines are always going to be discounting. There is enough competition with Virgin and Tiger and Jetstar that you will continue to get some pretty good prices domestically. The same goes internationally, there are a lot of airlines competing for passengers out of Australia."

Open-sky pact with the EU
1 May 2008
The Australian

There are hopes for unlimited flights between Australia and Europe

AUSTRALIA has taken a major step towards signing an open-skies agreement with Europe that could produce more flights between the two continents.

An agreement signed in Brussels yesterday recognises the existence of a single European market and was lauded by the federal Government as a breakthrough in the push for complete liberalisation of air travel between Australia and the European Union.

The EU is Australia's biggest aviation market and accounts for about 20 per cent of passenger traffic and a similar percentage of freight exports.

Annual passenger traffic has grown an average of 5 per cent over the past five years to reach 4.5 million people last year.

The current system involves separate bilateral air services agreements with 16 EU states.

Some, such as the agreement with Britain, are quite liberal while others, such as the agreement with France, are restrictive.

French restrictions limiting Qantas to three flights a week prompted the Flying Kangaroo to axe its services to Paris, but it has indicated on several occasions it would be prepared to reconsider the route if it could get more frequencies.

The new ``Horizontal Agreement'' between Australia and Europe locks in the benefits of the existing bilaterals and will form the basis for future discussions on a single Europe-wide agreement.

The Government hopes this will lead to the removal of many, if not all, limitations on flights between Australia and Europe.

It has also flagged that the agreement could address issues around competition and environmental protection. ``We had to get this agreement before we could move on to negotiation of more comprehensive, open skies arrangements,'' a spokesman for Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said yesterday. ``It formally recognises the EU as one ... market.''

An open-skies agreement with Europe would prove a boon to Qantas, which wants to start Jetstar International operations to the continent as well as expand its mainline services.

But it is doubtful whether it would prompt European carriers to start flying again to Australia.

Only two European carriers still fly to Australia, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, with their services limited to Sydney.

Most European carriers prefer for economic reasons to operate ``offline'', using a partner airlines to fly passengers from Australia to an Asian hub, where they are transferred to their own aircraft.

People booking a ticket to Copenhagen with Scandinavian Airlines, for example, fly with Thai Airways International to Bangkok and transfer to an SAS plane for the remainder of the journey.

Australia recently concluded an open skies agreement with the United States which allowed V Australia to start services to the Los Angeles.

However, difficult conditions in the US aviation industry make it unlikely new carriers will be flying in the opposite direction in the near future.

Qantas A380 in service by October
By Geoff Easdown
May 12, 2008 12:00am

IT was up, up and away for the flying kangaroo's new super jet yesterday as Qantas Airlines' first Airbus A380 effortlessly climbed into the skies above the French city of Toulouse, en route to an interior fitout in Germany.

The double-decker A380, which has a wingspan almost as large as a football field, will be named Nancy Bird Walton after the sprightly 92-year-old aviatrix.

After an incident-free two-hour flight and a near perfect touchdown at Hamburg on the Elbe River in northern Germany, the latest version of the world's biggest airliner was rolled into a hangar for its cabin fitout.

With the seats, galleys and the entertainment system to be installed, the 560-tonne jetliner next moves into a paint hangar where its appearance will change from bare metal green to the red and white livery of our national carrier.

Two weeks later, A380-01 is scheduled to return to Toulouse, the French headquarters of Airbus, where Qantas pilots and engineers will begin acceptance trials before it leaves for Australia in August. By October it is expected to be flying from Melbourne to Los Angeles.

The jet can carry 850 passengers but Qantas is likely to reconfigure the plane to seat just 500 to give extra space.

Qantas executive general manager John Borghetti, who was in Hamburg with his A380 project team to inspect and approve the interior fitout, said the finished product exceeded expectations.
"And my expectations were pretty high," he said.

Airbus also has given Qantas a rock-solid guarantee it will deliver by December all three of the first batch of 20 A380s that have been ordered.

After that there will be a brief delay of several weeks which could affect the arrival date of the fourth aircraft. The Franco-German company says the review is needed to conduct further tests of the A380 assembly systems.

However engineers at Hamburg said that before beginning the process they wanted to deliver the first wave of aircraft which had suffered a two-year delay due to software problems.

----

http://www.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,,6032420,00.jpg
Qantas Airlines' very first A380 super jumbo has at last flown for the first time over Toulouse, the French headquarters of the European aircraft builder.

http://www.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,,6032419,00.jpg
The flight signals the end of two years of assembly problems that have plagued a wave of aircraft deliveries at Airbus. After an incident free two-hour flight and near perfect touchdown at Hamburg on the Elbe river in northern Germany, the latest version of the worlds biggest airliner was rolled into a hangar where it began its cabin fit-out.

http://www.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,,6032417,00.jpg
With the seats, galleys and the entertainment system now installed, the 560 tonne jetliner moves next to a paint hangar where its appearance will change from bare metal green to the red and white livery of our national carrier. This is the first class section of the plane.

http://www.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,,6032415,00.jpg
This is the business section of the plane.

http://www.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,,6032416,00.jpg
Green has been chosen for the economy section.

http://www.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,,6032418,00.jpg
The self-service beverage and food bar for economy class passengers.

http://www.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,,6032414,00.jpg
Paris and London-based Australian designer Marc Newson who has designed the cabin interiors.

----

Sources:
- http://www.news.com.au/business/story/0,23636,23682841-14334,00.html
- http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/gallery/0,22010,5031631-5006020-1,00.html

Low-cost airlines hit Qantas
13 May 2008
The Age

QANTAS has not ruled out replacing its remaining services to Japan with Jetstar flights, after warning that the growth of low-cost airlines in Asia would "increase pressure on the viability of the Japan route".

In an application to the International Air Services Commission seeking a two-year extension of its code-share agreement with Japan Airlines, Qantas said it was "almost certain" it would cut services to Japan if the deal was not renewed.

But it failed to give any assurances it would maintain its current level of flights into Australia's third-biggest market for inbound tourists.

In its application, Qantas warned that the emergence of low-cost airlines was "likely to increase pressure on Australia's market share of Japanese tourists".

Qantas also failed to rule out switching flights into Tokyo with its low-cost Jetstar services.

It said it was "sustaining significant losses", highlighting the impact of high fuel prices and the high Australian dollar on dampening demand from Japan.

According to tourism industry lobby group TTF Australia, arrivals from Japan fell 17.6% in the year to March.

The code-share deal was expanded in 2006, when Japan Airlines stopped flying to Melbourne from Tokyo and decided to code share with Qantas on the route. Since then, Qantas has replaced services to Osaka and Nagoya with Jetstar, which forged a code share with JAL last year.

Jetstar declined to reject speculation it could eventually fly to Japan via its Darwin hub with narrow-body jets.

"The range of the A320 or the A321, without payload restrictions, you're looking at five to six hours," said Jetstar spokesman Simon Westaway.

"That arc does cover a lot of exciting . . . markets that we could serve in the future."

Jetstar already flies to Singapore from Darwin twice daily. The longer-range A321 could easily reach most Japanese cities from Darwin.

Australian airlines slow down to save fuel

SYDNEY, May 23, 2008 (AFP) - Some Australian airlines are flying slowly to save fuel as oil prices surge to record highs, it was revealed Friday.

Like motorists trying to economise, pilots are easing back on the throttle, national carrier Qantas and its budget offshoot Jetstar said.

Dropping the average flying speed on their Airbus A320s by about 10 knots or 20 kilometres per hour would save millions of dollars a year, Jetstar spokesman Simon Westaway told AFP.

"We are conducting a trial of flying the aircraft at slightly lower airspeeds," he said.

Airlines have a cost index from 0-99, in which "99 is what is usually simply called putting your foot to the floor -- that's essentially maximum fuel burn.

"Zero is the minimum, so its essentially how you ride the accelerator," he said.

Jetstar was testing dropping its cost index from 30 to 10 as the price of aviation fuel soars along with oil, which hit all-time highs of more than 135 dollars a barrel this week.

"Essentially it means a reduction in speed of around 10 knots or 20 kilometres an hour over the course of a journey."

The slower speeds would add about six minutes to a trans-Australia flight from Melbourne to Perth, which normally takes between three-and-a-half to four hours depending on direction and other factors, Westaway said.

The extra few minutes do not appear to have raised the ire of passengers, who probably have not noticed among all the factors that can slow a journey, from delays ahead of takeoff to circling before getting the go-ahead to land.

On long-haul flights, those minutes would multiply and mark a strange reversal of the ambition for ever-faster connections around the world since the invention of flying.

But with oil supplies finite and price rises appearing limitless, jet pilots driving like cash-strapped commuters appear to be a sign of the times.

Qantas, one of the world's major airlines, which dwarfs Jetstar's annual fuel consumption of 580 million litres a year, issued a terse statement on which it would not elaborate.

"Qantas has used variable speed flight plans within its schedules over the last two years as a fuel conservation initiative.

"This practice has led to fuel savings and lower carbon emissions without any significant impact on flight times."

Qantas announced Thursday that it would increase international air fares to counter the impact of rising fuel costs by about 4.0 percent from June 4, after a 3.0 percent hike earlier this month.

Pilot mayday on Jetstar hiring
27 May 2008
The Australian

QANTAS is under attack from another of its unions after moves by low-cost offshoot Jetstar to bring in up to 75 foreign flight crew under the 457 skilled migrant visa scheme.

The Australian and International Pilots Association yesterday warned the move would have long-term repercussions for Australian pilots and would undermine their careers if it was allowed to proceed.

AIPA, which represents Qantas pilots but is not party to the collective agreement with Jetstar pilots, called on the low-cost airline to offer the jobs to pilots from Qantas rather than bring in air crew from overseas.

The union says Jetstar could do this under a memorandum of understanding signed in 2004 and already used to hire 20 Qantas pilots. It has sent a copy of the MOU to the Immigration Department, along with a letter opposing the 457 scheme.

``There are 75 Qantas pilots who are trained and available to fly Jetstar planes today, but Jetstar prefers to avoid its obligations to invest in training Australian pilots and is riding roughshod over an MOU signed with the union,'' AIPA general manager Peter Somerville said.

``Jetstar's use of 457 visas is the wrong medicine for a misdiagnosed ailment, which will have long-term repercussions for Australian pilots.''

Qantas chief executive Geoff Dixon said that Jetstar and Qantas were separate entities, with their own pilot and training requirements.

He said almost all Qantas Group pilots were recruited and trained in Australia and that the company spent millions of dollars a year recruiting and training pilots. ``Nobody does more to grow the pool of skilled pilots in this country than we do.'' he said.

Jetstar's move comes as overseas airlines have increasingly been recruiting in Australia for pilots as a global shortage looms.

The budget carrier has so far recruited just one senior British pilot under the scheme, but says it has had strong interest from South Africa and Europe. It is also looking to North America.

Jetstar CEO Alan Joyce said the move was necessary to maintain the airline's experience base and to keep it growing in the face of a worldwide pilot shortage.

The airline had recruited about 300 Australian pilots in the past 3 1/2 years and estimated it would need another 300 plus in the next 18 months to two years, he said. This meant that fewer than 10 per cent of the pilots would be foreign.

``We certainly are recruiting lots of Australians, we've got a lot of people who were ex-Ansett ... and we'll continue to do that,'' Mr Joyce said.

``But it gives us the opportunity to make sure we have the right experience base for our growth.

``If we don't have pilots needed for that level of growth with the right level of experience (is that) we just won't grow.

``And that would mean the loss of other Australian jobs like cabin crew, like engineers, like call centre employees, like head office employees.''

The major Jetstar union, the Australian Federation of Airline Pilots, said it was disappointed at the 457 visa move, but acknowledged the reality of the pilot shortage and Jetstar's need to have experienced pilots to train its younger recruits.

Australia's Qantas slashes services to Asia due to fuel costs
5 June 2008
Agence France Presse

Australian airline Qantas on Thursday said it would cut services in Asia to avoid losing tens of millions of dollars in the face of high fuel costs, a decision that will also trigger more job losses.

Routes to Japan and South East Asia will be worst hit by the move, Qantas chief Geoff Dixon said, which comes after the airline last week announced it was slashing domestic capacity five percent in response to high fuel prices.

Dixon said the spike in fuel costs meant Qantas would lose more than 100 million dollars (96 million US) if it continued operating its existing services to Japan.

Official figures show visitor arrivals from Japan fell five percent in the 12 months to April and Dixon said the Queensland destination of Cairns had been hard hit.

"The Japan-far north Queensland market has been particularly difficult for Qantas for a number of years," he said.

Under the changes, Qantas will scrap three weekly flights from Melbourne to Tokyo, cut flights from Sydney to Tokyo from nine to two and withdraw its budget offshoot Jetstar from the Cairns-Osaka-Nagoya route.

In addition, the twice daily Qantas service from Cairns to Tokyo will be replaced with a single Jetstar flight, while the airline will schedule five new Jetstar flights a week from Queensland's Gold coast to Tokyo.

Jetstar will also withdraw from the Sydney to Kuala Lumpur route and replace its three weekly A330 services from Sydney to Ho Chi Minh City with five A320 services travelling Sydney-Darwin-Ho Chi Minh City.

Dixon said the changes would involve some job losses in Japan and Cairns, where a pilot base will be closed.

He said the redundancies were on top of those expected as a result of last week's announcement, which were expected to be "in the low hundreds", and attempts would be made to manage them on a voluntary basis.

Qantas also said its 17 flights a week between Sydney and Los Angeles would be reduced to 15 when A380 aircraft replace 747s on the route at the end of the year.

The other changes will be phased in between September and December 2008.

http://www.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,,6032416,00.jpg

Absolutely hideous.

What was QANTAS thinking?

Virgin Blue cuts routes, ups fares on fuel costs

SYDNEY, June 13 (Reuters) - Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd Australia's No. 2 airline, said it will cut some domestic routes and raise fares by an average A$5 on more than half its routes in the face of a 21 percent rise in its fuel costs this year.

It will also freeze pay on all management positions in the coming fiscal year, but will not cut staff, as part of a plan to cut A$50 million ($47 million) in costs in the fiscal year starting in July.

It said its fuel bill for next year was 53 percent hedged at $108 a barrel (WTI crude), compared with Friday's price just below $137.

Virgin Blue followed steps by rivals Qantas Airways Ltd and Air New Zealand and other international airlines, which have raised fares, quit some routes, and reduced capacity in a struggle against soaring oil costs.

"It's not a case of planning interim measures to offset a spike in the cost of fuel. All airlines must come to terms with a new reality in our industry," Virgin Blue Chief Executive Brett Godfrey said in a statement on Friday.

Virgin Blue said it would take four planes out of the domestic market in the September quarter, cutting planned capacity growth for the next fiscal year by 6 percent, and would move some planes out of loss-making services into new or more attractive markets.

It is considering other proposals to deal with record energy prices.

Shares in Virgin Blue, 63-percent owned by logistics group Toll Holdings Ltd , rose 0.9 percent to A$0.56, in a broader market that was up 0.5 percent. Toll was off 3.4 percent at A$6.45.

Virgin warned in April its profit would fall by more than half this year to around A$100 million.

Virgin axes flights, dealing new blow to tourism
14 June 2008
The Australian

TOURISM in Queensland was dealt another blow yesterday with Virgin Blue's announcement that it would cut its weekly flight from Sydney to Proserpine in the Whitsundays.

The latest cut comes in the wake of Qantas's announcement a week earlier that it would chop seven Jetstar flights from Cairns to Japan each week, leading tourist operators to warn that 1200 jobs could be lost.

The Queensland and federal governments launched an $8 million campaign this week to boost the troubled industry.

Virgin Blue's Whitsundays flight cut was part of a $50 million package of savings across the airline's Australian operations, including a reduction in the size of its fleet and increased ticket prices in response to soaring fuel costs.

Virgin Blue fares are expected to rise by an average of $5 across more than half of its domestic routes. Four aircraft will be removed from service.

With direct flights from Sydney cancelled, holidaymakers will now have to fly via Brisbane to get to the Whitsundays. Virgin Blue will also cease its three-times-a-week Darwin-to-Melbourne service by August.

The cuts come amid speculation that at least one Australian airline could go out of business.

In recent days, Qantas has announced a series of cuts to its services, China Airlines has declared a reduction of 100 flights a month and Air New Zealand has said it will raise fares for the second time in a month.

Virgin Blue chief executive Brett Godfrey said that among the saving measures was a one-year management salary freeze.

Mr Godfrey said the airline's fuel bill in the current financial year would be more than $500 million, an increase of 21 per cent on the previous year. Global jet fuel prices now comprised 35 per cent of the company's costs.

He said the viability of airlines around the world was becoming a serious issue amid soaring fuel costs. Every airline in the world was looking not just at its own profitability but at whether it could survive.

ANY NEWS ON WHEN EY WILL START TO MEL AND PER?

ANY NEWS ON WHEN EY WILL START TO MEL AND PER?

Who said they were going to?

http://www.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,,6032416,00.jpg

Absolutely hideous.

What was QANTAS thinking?

Wow, thats ugly. :ohno:

Qantas now changing their Jakarta and Manila flights to A330's from the Boeing 767 byt September this year, a good move I think.

Australia's Virgin Blue says oil prices hurt more than 9/11
19 August 2008
Agence France Presse

Australia's second largest airline Virgin Blue said Tuesday soaring oil prices were hurting the industry more than the September 11 attacks on the US, as it reported a 55 percent fall in net profit.

Virgin Blue Holdings said net profit for the year ended June 30 was 97.7 million dollars (84.6 million US) -- less than half last year's 215.8 million dollars.

Underlying profit was above expectations at 140.5 million dollars while revenue rose 8.4 percent to 2.35 billion dollars, it said in a statement.

But the airline, founded by British entrepreneur Richard Branson, said higher oil prices had damaged the industry more than the 2001 attacks on the US and the outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) combined.

"The current fuel crisis -- and it is just that ... a fuel crisis in so far as the industry is concerned -- has swamped the industry, to a magnitude greater than probably SARS and 9/11 combined," chief executive Brett Godfrey said.

Virgin Blue said with fuel costs at record highs, aviation was facing "an unprecedented operating environment for airlines globally."

Since June, the airline has increased ticket prices, introduced new baggage fees, cut planned growth by 12 percent and scrapped some underperforming routes to help strengthen its bottom line.

"The operating environment during the next 12 months is expected to be the most challenging the Virgin Blue group -- which now comprises Virgin Blue, Pacific Blue, Polynesia Blue and VAustralia -- has experienced to date," it said in a statement.

"We will continue to adapt business operations accordingly."

Virgin Blue said that the average contract rate paid for fuel jumped by 17 percent in the year to June, pushing the total fuel bill for the year to 589 million dollars.

Analysts have said high crude oil costs have sparked the biggest crisis in the Asia-Pacific airline industry for years, while slowing global economic growth threatens to lower passenger numbers.

Industry body IATA said this month the number of people travelling by air grew at the lowest rate for five years in June as the global slowdown sapped demand.

Virgin Blue said given the current environment, it will not make a final dividend payment in 2008.

But the low-cost airline said that it expected a positive result for the 2008-2009 financial year and that its launch of VAustralia, a new carrier which will fly between Sydney and Los Angeles, was on track for late 2008.

"Key drivers for the rest of our business, namely capacity, demand and the cost of fuel remain highly volatile," the company said.

"Based on current market conditions and fuel prices, a positive result for the current financial year is expected, but remains a challenge."

Shares in Virgin Blue dropped sharply following the results. They closed down 32.5 cents, or 27.9 percent, at 84 cents.

http://www.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,,6032416,00.jpg

Absolutely hideous.

What was QANTAS thinking?

:puke:

You'd get airsick before even leaving the freaking ground.

^^ That interior looks so generic and so unattractive.

Air Asia X to fly from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur from Nov 12, onee-way fare from AUD 199, booking starts tomorrow.

Air Asia X to fly from Melbourne to Kuala Lumpur from Nov 12, onee-way fare from AUD 199, booking starts tomorrow.

http://www.airasia.com/site/my/en/promotion.jsp?reference=mel2008

Rumour is Qatar Airways may launch Doha~Bangkok~Brisbane from next March. Same time Etihad star Melbourne.

Good thing Qantas takeover plan failed -outgoing chief

SYDNEY, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Qantas Airways Ltd.'s outgoing chief executive Geoff Dixon has said the Australian airline was fortunate a massive takeover bid from private equity failed last year, although he strongly backed the deal at the time.

In a newspaper interview, Dixon said the $A11 billion ($US9 billion) deal from the consortium Airline Partners Australia (APA) had been "clouded by emotion", as board members and management stood to make huge personal gains.

Had the takeover gone ahead, Dixon said, Qantas would now have been in serious financial difficulty, although he believed the airline would have survived.

One of the members of the APA consortium, Allco Finance Group , collapsed this month with debts of more than A$1.1 billion.

"It didn't happen, and I'm very pleased now it didn't happen," Dixon told the Sunday Telegraph. "The real issue I'd never repeat was having the management -- myself and the management -- involved in it.

"The real Achilles' heel was that it got very, very emotional -- principally because I and the senior management team were going to earn tens of millions of dollars as part of it.

"That's the way private equity works."

APA, which also included Canada's Onex Corp and Australia's Macquarie Bank Ltd , withdrew its bid in May last year amid lack of support from Qantas shareholders.

The bid's failure forced former Qantas chairwoman Margaret Jackson to announce her retirement.

Dixon steps down later this month, when he will hand over to Alan Joyce, the former chief of the airline's low-cost subsidiary Jetstar. In the year to June 2008, Qantas reported net profits of $A969 million, up 44 percent on the previous year.

Airport soars above the gloom with a record month
23 November 2008
Sunday Age

MELBOURNE Airport has posted its busiest month on record in a result defying recent speculation that the market is on a downward spiral.

Despite fears that the economic meltdown will see demand for air travel dry up - and which has led to airlines nationwide slashing prices - 2.19million people travelled through the airport in October.

This is up 6.8 per cent on October 2007 and beats the previous record of 2.17million set in March.

Both these months are crucial in the State Government's major events strategy and are typically strong for the airport, according to spokesman Geoffrey Conaghan.

But he said the growth in Melbourne Airport's capacity, fuelled by Tiger Airways entering the market one year ago, had also been critical in achieving the result.

The public's response to Tiger and the increase in capacity, Mr Conaghan said, meant the record figures were not as surprising as they seem.

"But what is surprising in current talk of gloom and doom is that one would not expect the best month on record," he said.

"You'd expect perhaps a flat month."

Earlier this month, tourism operators wrote to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd reporting falling confidence in the industry amid forecasts of a 30 per cent drop in forward bookings for the first half of 2009.

Mr Conaghan said the airport would not speculate on whether it would sustain growth through the last two months of the year. "It remains to be seen if we are going to have a delayed impact or a soft landing. (But) we are not immune from world trends, obviously."

The Melbourne results come the same week Sydney Airport showed passenger numbers there grew just 0.8 per cent this October compared with last.

Victoria University tourism expert Brian King said Melbourne Airport had aggressively pursued Middle Eastern and budget carriers while retaining Qantas flights.

Professor King said this had left it in a strong position. "I think the growth will decline," he said. "But I'm pretty optimistic about Melbourne Airport. If you asked me about any other Australian airport I wouldn't be so sure ... but Melbourne's strategy has been good."

A spokesman for Tourism and Major Events Minister Tim Holding said the figures underlined Melbourne's position as the major events capital of the world.

National airports brace for bumpy landing
29 November 2008
Australian Financial Review

As the country’s biggest airports shelve expansion and building plans, Queensland Premier Anna Bligh is set to open the $340 million Brisbane Airport expansion on Wednesday. Qantas Airways, Brisbane Airport Corp, Melbourne and Macquarie Airport’s Sydney Airport have slowed building production. Virgin Blue, Perth Airport operation company Westraila and Australian Infrastructure Fund backed-Perth Airport, has noted a rise in people using domestic flights, while Sydney international passenger traffic fell. The declining Australia dollar will drive more Australians to limit their journeys to domestic trips into 2009, says Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation analyst Derek Sabudin.

Brisbane Airport, Perth Airport, Qantas, Sydney Airport, Virgin Blue, Macquarie, Anna Bligh, Westraila, Australian Infrastructure Fund, Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation

Australia says to protect local ownership of Qantas

SYDNEY, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Australia's government will aim to protect Australian ownership of Qantas Airways in any merger with British Airways and would not allow the national carrier to be taken over, the transport minister said.

Speaking on national radio on Wednesday, Anthony Albanese said aviation was critical to Australia's economy and national security.

On Tuesday, British Airways said it was in merger talks with Qantas.

A Tie-Up Closer To Home Better For Qantas
3 December 2008
Dow Jones International News

Keen not to be left adrift as the world's airlines merge, Qantas has made the first move in a proposed merger with British Airways.

But if news of talks between the two flushes out partners for Qantas closer to home, that could prove more optimal for the Australian carrier and its shareholders.

At first sight, the advantages of a BA-Qantas marriage look more weighted to the U.K. company's side. That the story appears to have leaked before Qantas was ready to talk is instructive.

So was the sharp widening in Qantas's credit-default-swap spreads on concerns over its post-merger creditworthiness - BA brings with it a $2.5 billion unfunded pension liability.

A broad strategic rationale for the deal does exist. Qantas chiefs have been saying for some time global consolidation in the airline sector is inevitable. In BA, they have a potential partner of similar size and culture, which will create economies of scale.

Still, there is hardly any route overlap between the two airlines - and they already have a joint service agreement on flights between Australia and the U.K.

So while Qantas pores over BA's books, investors may see more earnings growth potential from a tie-up with an Asian or Middle Eastern airline - focused on the one part of the world most likely to see increasing demand for air travel.

Singapore Airlines, for example, has a younger aircraft fleet than BA and Qantas and lower labor costs, according to Morgan Stanley. It flies to 26 Asian destinations to Qantas's 19, providing cost savings opportunities for both carriers.

A deal with Singapore's national carrier also has the potential to create the premier air transport hub in Asia - an argument that works too for Hong Kong's Cathay Pacific or Dubai's Emirates Airline.

Qantas might end up being a smaller partner in a tie-up with such companies, whereas it's now a bigger company than BA by market capitalization.

But the company's shareholders may find it in their best interest for Qantas to put aside any pride.

(Andrew Peaple, a Columnist on Dow Jones' Heard on the Street team, has been a financial journalist since 2003. Currently based in Beijing he has also covered the U.K. economy and financial services, and is a U.K.-qualified chartered accountant. He can be reached on +86-10-6588-5848, or by email on andrew.peaple@dowjones.com)

TALK BACK: We invite readers to send us comments on this or other financial news topics. Please email us at TalkbackAsia@dowjones.com. Readers should include their full names, work or home addresses and telephone numbers for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit and publish your comments along with your name; we reserve the right not to publish reader comments.

Qantas set to resume Bangkok flights



Article from: Australian Associated Press

QANTAS has received approval from Thai authorities and will resume flights to Bangkok from Saturday.

The airline has been operating its Sydney-Bangkok-London return services through Singapore since Bangkok's international airport was closed eight days ago in anti-government protests which left thousands of travellers stranded.

Qantas executive general manager John Borghetti said today Qantas had received approval from Thai authorities to resume flights and was also undertaking its own operational assessments of the airport.

The first Qantas flight, QF2 London-Bangkok-Sydney, is scheduled to return to Bangkok early on Saturday evening.

It will be followed soon after by QF1 operating northbound from Sydney.

Mr Borghetti said the airline's focus this week, in consultation with the federal government, had been to help stranded Australians leave Thailand.

"We have operated three relief flights between Phuket and Singapore since Tuesday, and a fourth and final flight will operate tonight," he said.

"In total Qantas would have carried around 1200 people out of Thailand."

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24753105-12377,00.html

Qantas, British Airways Heads to Meet in Hong Kong, Review Says


By Jesse Riseborough

Dec. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Qantas Airways Ltd. Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce and British Airways Plc counterpart Willie Walsh will meet in Hong Kong this weekend for talks on a potential merger, the Australian Financial Review reported.

The outcome of their discussions will be put before the boards of both companies to determine whether the merger should proceed, the paper said, without citing anybody.

Qantas advisers, Macquarie Group Ltd. and Greenhill & Co., will resume talks with British Airways advisers UBS AG after the Christmas break to complete an appropriate merger ratio, the paper said.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jesse Riseborough in Melbourne at jriseborough@bloomberg.net

Citing security, Australia says Qantas must stay Aussie
6 December 2008
Agence France Presse

Qantas must remain Australian-owned for reasons of national security, even if a potential merger with British Airways goes ahead, Transport Minister Anthony Albanese said Sunday.

The two airlines announced last week they were in talks to create a global carrier worth an estimated eight billion Australian dollars (5.2 billion US) to help cope with the global financial crisis.

Albanese acknowledged that consolidation was inevitable for the industry, which has been buffeted by previously high oil prices and now declining passenger numbers.

But he said that needed to be "balanced" with the national interest.

"There are national security issues, particularly for an island continent located on the globe where Australia is, for having a national airline," he told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC).

Under Australian law, the carrier popularly known here as the "Flying Kangaroo" must remain at least 51 percent Australian-owned, with its headquarters in the country.

Albanese said the political protests in Thailand, which shut down Bangkok's main airport for a week, illustrated the importance of having Qantas remain majority Australian owned.

"When Australians were having difficulty departing from Thailand I was able to pick up the phone to the chief executive of Qantas, Alan Joyce, and make the request that extra flights be put on," he told ABC television.

The minister also said that given international air service agreements, which are negotiated between countries rather than airlines, it was necessary for Qantas to remain in Australian hands.

"For example, only a 51 percent Australian-based airline is eligible to fly from Australia to Japan," he said.

Albanese said while the foreign ownership rule will stay, the government was open to changing other restrictions which limit individual foreign holdings to 25 percent and aggregate foreign airline interests to a 35 percent stake.

Qantas: Deal with BA not assured
Published: 2008/12/09

SYDNEY: Qantas yesterday said that a proposed merger with British Airways was not guaranteed and could stumble over the European carrier's merger talks with a Spanish airline and its pension fund liabilities.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce, who took on the position last month, said the Australian airline was still in negotiations with BA to create a global carrier worth some A$8 billion (A$1 = RM2.35).

But he said there were issues to resolve, against the backdrop of the financial crisis which is threatening a global recession and plummetting passenger numbers. - AFP

Jetstar can't halt foreign carriers' advance
7 November 2008
The Australian

QANTAS Airways' share of international traffic slipped below 25 per cent in August and group market share fell after expansion by low-cost offshoot Jetstar failed to offset a mainline decline.

International airline passenger figures released yesterday show the growth of Jetstar into the fifth-biggest airline serving Australia did not prevent the Qantas Group's share of the international passenger traffic in August falling from 31.8 per cent a year ago to 30.7 per cent.

Qantas Airways now holds just 24.5 per cent of the market, down 2 percentage points on a year ago and a long way short of the 42.7percent lion's share it commanded in 1994.

Jetstar International, set up to protect the group's market share against aggressive foreign entrants such as Emirates, grew 1.2percentage points to 5.9 per cent of the market as it began shorter-haul international flights using A320s. Jetstar lagged only its mainline counterpart and rivals Singapore Airlines (12.2 per cent), Air New Zealand (9.5 per cent) and Emirates (7.4 per cent).

Singapore also improved its market position, growing 1.4 percentage points, and Air New Zealand's passenger share rose 0.6 points. Emirates' slice of the market fell 0.5 points.

The Qantas fall was reflected in an overall decline of the market share held by Australian-designated carriers from 33.1 per cent a year ago to 32.8 per cent in August. This compares to an Australian market share of more than 34 per cent in 2004.

Pacific Blue operations accounted for 1.6 per cent of passenger traffic to and from Australia, with niche players AirNorth, Ozjet and SkyAirWorld all coming in at 0.1 per cent.

The growth of international low-cost carrier operations continued, with five LCCs boosting their combined market share from 10.4 per cent in August last year to 11.1 per cent.

The good news was that international passenger traffic continued to grow -- increasing 3.2 per cent in August to 1.92 million and by 4.9 per cent to 23.47 million year to date.

Airlines flew 2.64 million seats to and from the country in August, up 6.5 per cent on the previous August, but seat take-up fell from 76.3 per cent in 2007 to 73.9 per cent.

And the tidings were not good for the freight industry.

International scheduled freight fell by 3.7 per cent from a year ago to 62,219 tonnes. Inbound freight fell 3.6 per cent and outbound traffic declined 4 per cent.

Fifty-two international scheduled carriers and six dedicated freight operators currently service Australia.

Qantas Takes Delivery Of Second Airbus A380 Aircraft
December 16, 2008 15:04 PM

MELBOURNE, Dec 16 (Bernama) -- Qantas has taken delivery of its second Airbus A380 aircraft, the largest airliner in the world.

The new A380 was handed over in Toulouse last night and will arrive in Sydney tomorrow morning.

The superjumbo will begin flying from Australia to Los Angeles on December 22, with its first flight taking off from Melbourne.

Qantas executive general manager John Borghetti said the addition of the second A380 would allow up to six superjumbo flights to Los Angeles a week.

The airline's first A380 flies to Los Angeles three times a week.

The third Qantas A380 is due for delivery on December 27. Its entry into service will see the start of the Qantas A380 flights to London via Singapore, starting from January 16.

Qantas is scheduled to take delivery of a further four A380s in 2009, and a fleet of 20 aircraft is scheduled to be in service by the end of 2013.

-- BERNAMA

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsbusiness.php?id=378628

Brief scare on Rex flight bound for Sydney

REX SYDNEY, Dec 16 AAP - Emergency services were put on standby at Sydney airport on Tuesday after a small passenger plane indicated there may be problems with its landing gear.

A spokeswoman for Regional Express (Rex) said a light in the cockpit of the plane, carrying about 20 passengers from Ballina to Sydney, suggested there may be a problem with the landing gear.

"The pilots received an unsafe nose gear indication light in the cockpit, so in accordance with procedures the aircraft conducted a flight path at Sydney airport," the Rex spokeswoman said.

The plane was forced to circle above Sydney domestic airport for about 35 minutes to allow engineers to check the landing gear was extended.

Emergency services were called to the scene, but the flight landed safely about 1pm (AEDT).

"It could be just a problem with the light, but just as a safety precaution they had to conduct a flight path.

"They had to also brief all passengers on emergency landing procedures."

Malaysia Airlines in Qantas partnership talks: Chief
Published: 2008/12/16

MALAYSIA Airlines said yesterday it has begun talks with various carriers, including Australia’s Qantas, to form tie-ups including joint ventures as carriers face a tough economic environment.

The airline’s managing director and CEO Idris Jala had previously denied reports that Malaysian and Australian carriers were in merger talks.

Jala made the latest comments after Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak reportedly said the government was open to a tie-up involving Malaysia Airlines. The government owns more that 90 per cent of the national carrier.

“The present conditions in the world dictate to us to be creative and innovative provided we can agree on the participation of foreigners on a win-win basis,” Najib was quoted as saying in a local newspaper.

Jala said that while Malaysia Airlines would pursue strategic partnerships, the government would have the final say in the decision to go ahead with a tie-up.

“Any partnership that we pursue will require engagement with, and approval by, key stakeholders,” he said.

“Malaysia Airlines is very pleased with the continued strong support from the government. We will do everything possible to fulfill the interests of the airline in line with the aspirations of the nation.”

Jala said that “more details will be announced as and when we have finalised the terms of any of these partnerships. At this stage, we have no further comment.”

Malaysia Airlines has undergone a sweeping turnaround programme, including staff layoffs and route closures, which ended a series of disastrous losses and produced a record profit in 2007.

Last month however, the carrier said net profit for the third quarter shrank 90 per cent to RM38 million (US$10.7 million), from RM364 million in the same period last year due to higher fuel costs.

The International Air Transport Association last week said the aviation industry is expected to post a loss of US$2.5 billion in 2009 due to the economic crisis.

“The outlook is bleak,” said Giovanni Bisignani, the association’s director general and chief executive. - AFP

Jetstar plans a Coast revival - While Japanese visitors to Australia continue to plummet . . .
15 December 2008
The Courier-Mail

WITH Jetstar launching a new route between the Gold Coast and Tokyo this week and the promise of increased services in the new year, the airline says the future for Japanese tourists in Australia is promising despite falling visitor numbers.

On Thursday, the discount carrier will launch its five flights a week Gold Coast to Narita Airport service, which is scheduled to increase to a daily service at the end of March.

Already offering Osaka to Gold Coast routes, general manager corporate relations Simon Westaway said the new services reinforced Jetstar's confidence in the Japanese market.

``The Japanese are one of the great consumers of the world,'' he said.

``Jetstar is actually pretty optimistic about the Japanese market. The industry is obviously quite down about it, and rightly so, but we believe there is some upturn for us.''

According to Jetstar's figures they had a 9 per cent increase in passenger numbers on Japanese flights between April and September this year.

But last week a report out from the Australian Bureau of Statistics found international visitor numbers had fallen significantly during the September quarter, with a huge 19 per cent drop within the Japanese market.

Tourism and Transport Forum executive director Olivia Wirth said the fall in numbers meant tourism operators had to be even more vigilant about marketing to foreign travellers.

``There's been a 7.5 per cent drop in the number of people coming to Australia for a holiday in the September quarter compared to last year, which shows the importance of maintaining a presence in overseas markets and continuing to promote Australia internationally as a holiday destination,'' she said.

Mr Westaway said some hard decisions had to be made during 2008 in relation to Japanese routes, including the axing of services between Cairns and Nagoya and Osaka, which took effect this month.

He said the Gold Coast was now used as a hub for Japanese traffic, with tourists able to catch connecting flights to both Cairns and Sydney.

Brisbane-base Nagisa Iwanaga, a Japanese national who is currently on a working-holiday visa, said she had flown the Osaka to Gold Coast route several times.

While enjoying the cheap airfares between the two countries, Ms Iwanaga said the Gold Coast Airport did not give a great first impression for first-time visitors.

``Sometimes you have to wait for a long time but you can't do anything there. At Brisbane Airport you can find lots to do,'' she said.

Mr Westaway said Jetstar had a long-term agreement with Queensland Airports, owner of the Gold Coast Airport, and the airline was looking forward to the conclusion of a series of planned improvements to the site.

Gold Coast Airport chief operating officer Paul Donovan said a $100 million redevelopment of the airport would see the terminal more than double its size to 28,000sq m, expand check-in and bag screening areas and build on its retail capacity.

``The bottom line is people don't fly in because of the airport, they fly in for the destination and this destination is what is driving the great growth,'' he said.

``The Gold Coast, being one of the nation's most iconic tourist destinations means there is huge demand for it.''

Qantas, British Airways ground merger talks
Published: 2008/12/19

SYDNEY/LONDON: Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd and British Airways plc (BA) have called off talks for a US$6.4 billion (US$1 = RM3.48) merger that analysts said could have helped transform an industry grappling with falling demand and volatile fuel prices.

Qantas and BA announced the end of talks in a three-paragraph statement issued to the Australian and London stock markets yesterday, saying they could not agree on key terms for a deal.

"Despite the potential longer-term benefits for Qantas and BA, the airlines have not been able to come to an agreement over the key terms of the merger, at this time," Qantas said.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce had warned last week that the merger faced major hurdles and would only go ahead if Qantas could secure major revenue and cost benefits. He also lamented the fact the talks had been leaked and forced out into the open.

A Qantas-BA marriage faced major challenges, not least the ownership split of the combined business, which was proposed to be formed through a dual-listed merger whereby the two firms would have kept their existing listings but be managed as one.

Yesterday, BA added that it would not agree to Qantas owning more than 50 per cent of the merged entity, though Qantas is the larger firm by market value.

Qantas is worth about US$3.3 billion and BA about US$3.1 billion, based on latest exchange rates and share prices.

A source familiar with Qantas's plan said the Australian carrier was still open to airline mergers, especially in Asia, though it was not in any active talks.

Qantas has had previous dialogue with Singapore Airlines and Malaysian Airline System, the source noted, adding: Qantas continues "to work on and keep the door open for discussions with an airline". - Reuters

http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/qaba/Article/

Two killed after planes collide over Sydney
18 December 2008
Agence France Presse

Two women were killed Thursday when their light aircraft slammed into a suburban house in Sydney after a mid-air collision between two flying school planes, officials said.

An instructor and her female student in a Cessna 152 died in the crash, while the other plane managed to land safely at nearby Bankstown Airport, police said.

The second plane's 89-year-old male instructor and 25-year-old student were not hurt and their single-engined Liberty suffered only minor damage, the national AAP news agency reported.

No one was in the house when the Cessna hit but a young mother and her newborn baby had left shortly before the crash, the woman's father said.

"She took the baby for a photo with Santa Claus sometime this morning," said Gino Velerio.

His daughter Bianca and one-week-old grandson normally spent most of their time in the kitchen at the back of the house near where the plane hit, he said.

Witnesses described watching the aircraft smash into the rear of the house in the suburb of Casula in Sydney's southwest around mid-morning.

"I was going along the M5 and I've just seen this thing coming down," a man told Fairfax Radio.

"The tail was hanging off the back and it's crashed into the back of a house up near Box Road and it's absolutely demolished the back of their house," he said.

Several neighbours said they were in their backyard swimming pools at the time of the crash, while Rabiyah Khan told national radio she was at a barbecue in the same street when the plane came down.

"The whole back side of the house was just torn apart," she said. "Just seeing it actually in real life, it was just really kind of haunting."

An investigation has been launched into the crash.

Zomg^^ runescape money, that sounds heavenly.

Qantas, British Airways end merger talks
19-12-2008:- by Mark Bendeich & John Bowker

SYDNEY/LONDON: Australia’s Qantas Airways and British Airways called off talks for a US$6.4 billion (RM22.4 billion) merger, leaving the British carrier to consider other combinations with European peers as the sector grapples with falling demand and volatile fuel prices.

Qantas and BA announced the end of talks to the Australian and London stock markets yesterday, saying they could not agree on key terms for a deal, which a BA spokeswoman told Reuters included a Qantas demand for more than 50% of the business.

The BA spokeswoman said the British carrier’s long-running merger talks with Spain’s Iberia were continuing but that it was not planning to take an equity stake in Italy’s Alitalia.

The CAI group that owns Alitalia has said it is looking for a potential airline partner to take an equity stake, but the BA spokeswoman said it was only interested in a commercial deal.

Air France and Lufthansa are also battling for a tie-up with Alitalia.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce had warned last week that a BA merger faced major hurdles and would only go ahead if Qantas could secure major revenue and cost benefits. He also lamented the fact the talks had been leaked and forced out into the open.

A Qantas-BA marriage faced major challenges, not least the ownership split of the combined business, which was proposed to be formed through a dual-listed merger whereby the two firms would have kept their existing listings but be managed as one.

“This is not wholly unexpected considering the hurdles that had to be overcome, for example how you split the company and get round the bilateral issues of foreign ownership,” Jonathan Wober, airlines analyst at Societe Generale, told Reuters.

BA said yesterday it would not agree to Qantas owning more than 50% of the merged entity, though Qantas is the larger company by market value.

Qantas is worth about US$3.3 billion and BA about US$3.1 billion, based on latest exchange rates and share prices. BA was down 4.2% in early London trade, but recovered to be off 1% by 1248 GMT.

“The leak created an expectation about the merger ratio that could not be delivered considering the relative value of the airlines,” a BA spokeswoman said.

Asked if Qantas wanted more than 50% of the combined entity, she added: “Yes”.

Under Australian law, Qantas must remain majority-owned by Australian investors and its head office, stock market listing and major facilities must remain in its home country.

A source familiar with Qantas’ plan said the Australian carrier was still open to airline mergers, especially in Asia, though it was not in any active talks.

Qantas has had previous dialogue with Singapore Airlines and Malaysian Airline System (MAS), the source noted, adding: Qantas continues “to work on and keep the door open for discussions with an airline”.

The hurdles to a Qantas-BA deal also included BA’s US$2.2 billion in pension-fund liabilities and also the British carrier’s separate merger talks with Spain’s Iberia.

Qantas had ruled out a three-way merger with BA and Iberia, though this would have created the world’s biggest airline, ahead of American Airlines.

Iberia declined to comment, though chairman Fernando Conte is likely to be heartened by the news. He told journalists in London this month that deals between airlines within regions were more compelling than cross-regional tie-ups.

“On paper, Iberia is a deal that is less complex — we see more synergies. But it depends on whether the two companies can agree on who gets what slice,” Panmure Gordon transport analyst Gert Zonneveld told Reuters.

Iberia’s shares rose 5% on renewed hope for a deal with BA.

Qantas shares rose 7.5% in heavy trade ahead of the announcement, which came after the Australian market had closed.

Aviation analysts had said a Qantas-BA merger would lead to other big marriages in the airline industry, which has been slashing capacity this year as fuel prices rallied to record highs in July.

Fuel prices have tumbled since then, but so has demand for air travel, keeping alive the forces of consolidation.

Germany’s Lufthansa last week signed a deal to buy Austrian Airlines, a move that will make it Europe’s biggest airline.

Qantas and BA remain code-sharing partners in the Oneworld alliance.

Qantas is being advised by Macquarie Group Ltd, while BA is being advised by UBS. — Reuters

Qantas And Jetstar Cut Fuel Surcharge
December 22, 2008 19:08 PM

MELBOURNE, Dec 22 (Bernama) -- Qantas Airways Ltd has reduced its international and domestic fuel surcharges for the third time in recent months because of falling oil prices.

The new surcharges apply to tickets bought on, or after, Dec 23.

The crude oil price peaked at US$147.27 a barrel in July and has since fallen to US$38 a barrel.

Qantas executive general manager John Borghetti today said the group's fuel bill this financial year would still be A$400 million higher than in 2007/08.

The fuel surcharge for a one-way ticket from Australia to the United Kingdom and Europe has been cut by A$30 to A$160.

The surcharge was cut by A$20 to A$130 for one-way flights to the Americas, South Africa and India.It was reduced by A$10 to A$55 for one-way trips to New Zealand.

Qantas has reduced its Qantas domestic and QantasLink fuel surcharge from A$21 to A$18 for each one-way ticket.

Qantas' wholly owned budget carrier Jetstar, will cut its fuel surcharge by A$10 to A$9 for domestic flights, and by A$30 to A$68 for one-way flights to Asia and Honolulu.

The surcharge has been cut by A$20 to A$25 for flights to New Zealand and by A$20 to A$35 for shorter-haul Asian destinations such as Bali.

The cuts will also take effect from Dec 23.

--BERNAMA

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsbusiness.php?id=379919

Christmas in Australia, but luggage could be anywhere
23 December 2008
The Sydney Morning Herald

MISTAKES and technical problems combined to cripple Qantas's baggage handling operations during Sydney Airport's busiest weekend of the year, leaving scores of passengers without their bags, Christmas presents, and, in one case, two miniature schnauzers.

An English family were told their suitcase full of Christmas gifts was among 750 bags caught up in a baggage glitch that affected flights from London and Los Angeles to Sydney and Melbourne, as Qantas struggled to cope with the Christmas rush.

With about 35,000 passengers flooding through Sydney's international terminal a day from Friday, the Quinn family waited 36 hours to hear if they would receive a suitcase full of Christmas gifts for their two young children that went missing between London and Sydney.

A fault with the baggage handling system in Los Angeles was partly to blame, Sue Quinn was told. "Santa had hid his pressies in my bag and I don't know whether to go shopping and start again or wait for them to tell us if we'll get our bags back this side of Christmas," she said.

The airline said yesterday a technical issue in the cargo hold of a Boeing 747-400 flying from Los Angeles to Melbourne caused an unknown number of suitcases and backpacks to be pushed back on to later flights.

But a spokeswoman would not comment on the experiences of other frustrated passengers made to wait hours at terminals in Sydney, Melbourne and Cairns.

The Quinns' missing suitcase turned up yesterday.

In Melbourne, Jeannette Harrison-Ince and her husband were dismayed to discover their pet miniature schnauzers, Hannah and Zoe, had been left behind in their dog cages at Brisbane Airport.

"[A Qantas officer] simply said, 'We had too much baggage, with Christmas mail and too many bags, so the dogs were left,' " Mrs Harrison-Ince said.

Hannah and Zoe arrived in a "terrified" state 2 1/2 hours after their owners.

Other passengers missed out on Christmas engagements and time with family as they waited for their luggage to arrive.

Kim and Craig Younghusband flew in from South Africa and were meant to depart for Port Macquarie yesterday, but a 6 1/2 hour delay and the loss of one of their bags put a spanner in the works. Qantas and its budget subsidiary, Jetstar, have lowered fuel surcharges on long-haul overseas flights by as much as a third in a belated response to weak oil prices.

Qantas's surcharge on one-way tickets to Europe will fall by $30 to $160 and the fee for flights to North and South America, South Africa and India will drop by $20 to $130.

The surcharge on tickets to Asia, the Pacific and Hawaii will fall by $15 to $95.

Jetstar has also cut its surcharge on long-haul flights to Thailand, Japan, Indonesia and Hawaii by $30 to $68 and the fee on trans-Tasman routes falls from $45 to $25. It has cut the surcharge on domestic flights by $10 and on short-haul Asian ones by $20.

The changes will apply to tickets issued from tomorrow.

Heat on Qantas over fuel levies
24 December 2008
The Australian

QANTAS is facing questions about why its fuel surcharges are as much as 866 per cent higher than they were in 2004, even though oil prices have fallen to similar levels.

The airline introduced the current round of fuel surcharges in May 2004, with a $6 per sector levy on domestic flights and a $15 per sector charge on international flights.

That translated into a $30 charge each way on two-sector flights to Europe and $15 on non-stop flights to the US.

Even with reductions this week of up to $30 per flight, the fuel surcharge on a one-way trip to Europe, at $160, remains five times higher than in 2004.

The $130 levy on a US service is more than eight times higher than four years ago and the $18 per sector domestic surcharge is three times higher.

The higher charges come in the face of a fall in the oil price to about $US40 a barrel -- roughly the same as it was when the surcharge was introduced. The current Aussie-US dollar exchange rate is also similar, at US68.3c. This is about US2c lower than the 20-day average for May 2004, and about US6c lower than at the time of the original announcement.

The discrepancies prompted consumer group Choice to call for greater transparency in fuel surcharges.

Choice spokesman Christopher Zinn said it was impossible for consumers to do the complex arithmetic needed to judge whether surcharges were fair or not.

He said there was a growing suspicion among the travelling public that airline fuel surcharges imposed during the oil price spike had not been reduced as much as they should.

``There's no doubt that while there have been reductions, they haven't been as much as people would have either wanted or expected,'' Mr Zinn said.

``Our best advice is, short of knowing where any regulator stands on this thing, to find the airlines and the prices where the surcharge is less.''

Mr Zinn called on airlines and others who had levied surcharges for increased prices during the oil spike to pass on reductions.

``And again, that is something that competition is supposed to do: drive these things down,'' he said. ``But given the way that some of these things aren't very transparent, it's very hard to know if you are being dudded or not.''

Qantas said fuel costs remained significantly higher than when the surcharge was introduced in 2004 and would this year be $400 million above the 2007-08 figure.

It said it faced increases in the costs of refining jet fuel and that the average cost in December was about $US60.15 a barrel, compared with $45.71 in May 2004. The cost of fuel was also higher because of the lower exchange rate.

``We have absorbed significant amounts of the additional fuel costs in recent years, and our hedging activities meant we were able to limit surcharges to an extent,'' a spokesman said.

``In the short term, prices remain volatile and hedging costs have increased. We will continue to closely monitor the situation.''

----- SKY HIGH -----

Qantas fuel surcharge

THEN (May 11-12, 2004)

International ............................. $15 per sector

Direct flight to the US ............... $15

Flight to Europe via Singapore ... $30

Domestic ................................. $6 per sector

Crude oil price .......................... $US40.77

AUD = ..................................... US70.38 cents

NOW

Britain and Europe ................................................................. $160

Mainland US, Canada, South America, South Africa and India ... $130

Asia Pacific, Honolulu ............................................................ $95

Domestic .............................................................................. $18

Crude oil price ....................................................................... $US39.90

AUD = .................................................................................. US68.39 cents

International visitors smash Melbourne Airport record
23 December 2008
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) News

Melbourne Airport says it has just experienced its busiest pre-Christmas weekend on record in terms of international departures and arrivals.

Just over 32,800 international visitors went through the airport last weekend, 2,065 more than the same time last year.

Airport chief executive Chris Woodruff says more direct services between Melbourne and the world have proved popular with travellers both inbound and outbound.

"What this is demonstrating is that this Victorian market is really resilient right now," he said.

"We are bucking the trend of the rest of Australia. Our airlines are showing confidence in our market, they've put on more flights to more places at keener prices."

Mr Woodruff says despite the global financial crisis, Melbourne Airport remains a popular destination among 24 airlines, partly because it has no curfew.

"Many more airlines coming here, many more seats, lower prices and Victorians can now travel directly to their chosen destination rather than having to traipse through another port in Australia and have a very bad experience," he said.

Flyer's market as airfares plummet
Steve Creedy, Aviation writer | January 03, 2009
The Australian
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,,24867324-23349,00.html

TRAVELLERS are reaping the benefits of the downturn in the airline industry, as carriers slash prices to some of the lowest levels in years and engage in a price war on the US route.

With the Christmas peak coming to an end, carriers enter one of the quietest periods of the year next month and are desperate to stimulate travel.

Lower fuel prices - at least for now - have prompted Virgin and Qantas to remove fuel surcharges on domestic flights for the first time since 2004 and reduce them on international routes.

But the biggest driver behind the deals has been a fall in demand that is keeping overseas visitors away from Australia and led to airline passenger traffic in the Asia-Pacific in November last year being down almost 10per cent compared with the same month in 2007.

A number of airlines are offering sharp deals on international routes and savvy travellers are able to combine these with accommodation bargains such as free extra nights to gain remarkably cheap overseas holidays.

The US route, which this year will see new entrants V Australia and Delta Air Lines double the number of carriers flying non-stop to the west coast, is looking particularly competitive for economy travellers.

V Australia, due to launch on February 27, has been offering $1199 all-inclusive return fares to the west coast of the US. Website travel.com.au shows both major competitors, Qantas and United Airlines, beating that with fares as low as $1166.

Flights to Europe are also good value with several airlines offering return flights for less than $2000 and Korean carrier Asiana offering tax-inclusive economy Sydney to London fares from $1534 return in March.

At the pointy end, Abu Dhabi-based Etihad is advertising $6317 all-inclusive business-class fares to London and an $8317 first-class return fare.

Low-cost carriers Tiger Airways and AirAsiaX continue to provide low-cost international alternatives to the full-service carriers with Tiger offering a $206.95 one-way Melbourne-Singapore fare and AirAsiaX a $199 one-way ticket to Kuala Lumpur from its Australian ports. Jetstar is offering a $199 one-way ticket to Honolulu.

Domestic deals include all-inclusive flights as low as $29 one way. While the sub-$10 sales of last year have not been seen, Virgin Blue spokesman Amanda Bolger said sales such as the current "Not Deer" promotion offered wider deals across the airline's network.

The Virgin Blue sale offers discounts of up to 35 per cent for travel during the quiet period, including a one-way Sydney to Perth fare of $149 and flights between Melbourne and Sydney for $60 one way.

Tourism and Transport Forum executive director Olivia Wirth said the deals were the cheapest for several years. "All indications are showing that 2009 is really going to be a buyer's market and there going to be great deals available," she said.

How big a bargain travellers get depends on a number of factors such as routing, the time of week they travel and whether they choose to stop en route.

Pitfalls include websites and travel agencies that advertise cheap fares but do not include hefty taxes and charges.

These can sometimes be more expensive than the fare. A $954 Malaysia Airlines return fare to London touted online, for example, attracted taxes and charges from $1059. Similarly, a $227 Air Vanuatu fare attracted taxes and charges of $378.

------------------------

Mark.

Delta to boost tourism Down Under
Steve Creedy, Aviation writer | December 19, 2008
The Australian
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/business/story/0,,24823010-23349,00.html

TOURISM and airport officials today welcomed confirmation by US mega-carrier Delta Air Lines that it would start daily non-stop Boeing 777-200LR flights between Sydney and Los Angeles in July.

The move and the launch of V Australia next year effectively doubles the number of airlines flying non-stop between Australia and the US West Coast.

Delta's flights will continue to its Atlanta hub.

The Sydney route is part of Delta’s wider strategy to expand operations at Los Angeles International Airport and to grow its overseas operations.

The airline said yesterday the addition of Sydney would make Delta the only US airline to fly to six continents.

Its new service will include full lie-flat beds, video on demand, a five-course chef-designed menu and a new wine program.

The move will bring to the route for the first time a third major airline alliance, Skyteam.

Skyteam, which also includes European juggernaut Air France-KLM, is the major competitor for oneworld, to which Qantas belongs, and the Star Alliance, which includes United.

Tourism and Transport Forum executive director Olivia Wirth said more flights from the US to Australia will give tourists more choice.

“Another airline joining the trans-Pacific route is great news for Australian tourism operators because extra flights mean more seats and more chances for Americans to take advantage of the buying power of the greenback down under.” she said.

“Travellers will be the big winners, not only through more choice of carrier, but also increased fare competition.

“The Delta services, combined with the V Australia flights also commencing in early 2009, will add welcome capacity to the US-Australia route.”

Ms Wirth said the latest statistics showed a substantial fall in the number of American tourists.

“October saw a drop of nearly 5000 American visitors to Australia on last year, so we hope the increased capacity and competition could help turn that around,” she said.

Sydney Airport chief executive Russell Balding said the announcement was a real win for Sydney and would boost tourism to the NSW capital.

“Sydney is Australia’s largest tourist attraction and this announcement is good news for everyone working in the tourism, hospitality and related industries,” he said.

------------------------

Mark.

I wonder if doubling capacity is even sustainable, and forcing fares to drop to below profitability.

I dont know about Business or First, but the economy seats are amost always full by the time the plane departs. I took a BNE-LAX Qantas flight, it was completely full despite a quiet period, so extra capacity is indeed needed. How much, in the current economic climate, is another question. Two extra airlines would stimulate a lot more tourist and business travel, particularly since it involves one as a budget airline, and another as part of a new alliance. Might also force some to consider other airports, I live near Brisbane, so I would prefer flights from BNE.

Mark.

I wonder if doubling capacity is even sustainable, and forcing fares to drop to below profitability.

I dont know about Business or First, but the economy seats are amost always full by the time the plane departs. I took a BNE-LAX Qantas flight, it was completely full despite a quiet period, so extra capacity is indeed needed. How much, in the current economic climate, is another question. Two extra airlines would stimulate a lot more tourist and business travel, particularly since it involves one as a budget airline, and another as part of a new alliance. Might also force some to consider other airports, I live near Brisbane, so I would prefer flights from BNE.

Mark.
But the fact that seats are full does not mean the flight is profitable. That's exactly the problem I'm talking about. Airlines now have to sell at cheaper prices with so much more competition on the route to the point that they are no longer making money. Capacity increase does not stimulate business travel either. It's the economic environment, in general, that primarily determines the amount of business traffic. If there's no business to be made, then even a cheap J class fare won't entice businesspeople to travel more.

I wonder if doubling capacity is even sustainable, and forcing fares to drop to below profitability.

It's not doubling of capacity. I'ts doubling of carriers.

Even considering only direct flights SYD-LAX, Qantas flys 16x while United flys 7x, for a total of 23 flights per week. Combined V Australia and Delta will be offering 14 flights (on smaller planes).

If this is too much, one of the carriers would drop out: my moneys on UA due to it's poor product/service. Pan Am, Continental, Northwest have quit over the years.

But the fact that seats are full does not mean the flight is profitable. That's exactly the problem I'm talking about. Airlines now have to sell at cheaper prices with so much more competition on the route to the point that they are no longer making money.

It's true that high loads don't equal profit (US bound route aren't that that high anyway, with about 78% seat utilisation compared with 90% for the UK routes), but currently there are high profit margins on these flights for Qantas. We'll just have to see how the competition affects this.

Personally, I think the 4 carriers would do just fine since there is alot more demand than supply to fly between Australia and the US.

I disagree that United will drop out. With domestic feed out of LAX and a large Star Alliance FFP clientele, people may still stick with United even if it has poor service.

Don't underestimate the power of alliances and FFPs.

The one I think may drop out is V Australia. V Australia will have to rely all on Australian traffic and for their sake, I hope it's alot. It belongs to neither alliance and since it's interlining agreement with Northwest is void, it remains to be seen how will they sustain Aus-USA services.

I disagree that United will drop out. With domestic feed out of LAX and a large Star Alliance FFP clientele, people may still stick with United even if it has poor service.

Don't underestimate the power of alliances and FFPs.


UA's new-ish premium cabins and their Star Alliance membership are the only things keeping them on the route currently: Already it is a problematic service - it has the worst seat utilisation of the major carriers (64% in September). The increased competition that Delta and V Australia, not to mention Qantas and it's A380s, bring will damage the route further.

The one I think may drop out is V Australia. V Australia will have to rely all on Australian traffic and for their sake, I hope it's alot. It belongs to neither alliance and since it's interlining agreement with Northwest is void, it remains to be seen how will they sustain Aus-USA services.

You wouldn't be the only one, but i'm quietly confident.

Australia aviation regulator probes military link to emergencies
2 January 2009
Agence France Presse

Australia's air safety regulator will examine whether interference from military radio signals prompted a second aircraft emergency over the country's northwest.

A Singapore-bound Qantas jet carrying 277 passengers was forced to turn back to the west-coast city of Perth early on December 27 2008, after the aircraft's auto pilot disconnected.

The plane was about 260 nautical miles (416 kilometres) north-west of Perth when the malfunction occurred, disrupting the supply of key information to flight control computers.

The Air Transport Safety Bureau announced late Friday that it would combine the investigation into the incident with a probe into a similar emergency in October.

"As it appears to be a similar event to a previous event involving an A330 aircraft on 7 Oct 2008 it will be included as part of the earlier investigation," the bureau said.

"The ATSB investigation will explore all aspects of the operation of the aircraft, including examination of recorded data, and any commonalities with past occurrences."

A Qantas Airbus A330 from Singapore to Perth was cruising at 37,000 feet west of the Australian town of Learmonth on October 7 when it abruptly plunged twice.

Many of the more than 300 people on board were hurt, including 13 passengers and a flight attendant who were seriously injured as they were thrown about the cabin.

The ATSB has provisionally indicated a computer glitch on that occasion caused the auto pilot to shut down, and said it was exploring possible interference from a nearby naval communications station.

The station, at Exmouth, transmits high-powered radio signals to submarines and naval vessels around the world.

An interim report on both incidents is expected midway through next month.

Blue skies for Webjet
6 January 2009
The Australian

ONLINE airfare portal Webjet is defying the industry gloom and predicting an increased profit this financial year on the back of a 14 per cent rise in first-half revenue.

The company announced yesterday that preliminary figures for the six months ending December 31 indicated total transactions rose to $180 million compared with $158 million a year ago.

It said that a generally reported downturn in Australian air travel had not prevented the number of first-half transactions rising 19 per cent on a year ago.

It believed this reflected a substantial reduction in airfare ticket prices as airlines reduced ticket prices by cutting fuel surcharges and through pricing aggressively.

``Despite the general gloom, we expect that the profit for the period will show a similar level of increase on last year,'' Website managing director David Clarke said.

Mr Clarke said that early holiday-period January bookings had continued strongly, driven in part by a television media campaign.

Webjet delivered a 134 per cent rise in annual net profit to $9.4 million in 2007-08 but this included a one-off boost from a $2.7 million tax credit.

The company's profit rose 68 per cent without that boost.

Qantas begins A380 flights to London

Australians have more options for flying the world's largest airliner, the Airbus A380, to Europe after Qantas began flying the aircraft on the `kangaroo route' to London last week.

Executive General Manager, Mr John Borghetti, said the airline would initially operate three A380 superjumbo services each week on the Kangaroo Route.

"Following the delivery of a third aircraft at the end of December, we are now ready to introduce the Qantas A380 to the Singapore and UK markets," he said.

QF31 will operate from Sydney to London via Singapore on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, with the return QF32 operating on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays, also via Singapore.

Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines announced it will begin flights of the A380to Paris beginning from June 1.

The daily Singapore-Paris flights will be in addition to SIA's A380 service to London, Tokyo and Sydney.

Singapore Airlines and travel agents said last week that the carrier is cutting more than 200 flights to Europe, Australia, China, and India in response to falling passenger numbers during a global economic slowdown.

The airline said December passenger numbers were down 7.5 per cent year-on-year.

But on Monday it said the A380 Paris service is a response to "growing demand".

The double-decker aircraft will replace the existing 10-times-a-week service by Boeing 777-300ER planes, SIA said.

Superjumbos can carry up to 853 passengers but SIA uses a setup with a maximum of 471 seats. Qantas A380s have 450 seats.

SIA was the first airline in the world to operate the A380.

Travellers desert Qantas for Jetstar


More passengers are flying on Qantas's low-cost carrier Jetstar, but numbers on the group's other carriers have fallen, according to preliminary figures released by Qantas Airways Ltd on Tuesday.

The group comprises Qantas Domestic, regional operator QantasLink, Jetstar Domestic, Qantas International and Jetstar International.

Qantas said passenger numbers for the group in November 2008 had fallen by 3.8% compared to the prior year.

The group carried 3,170,000 passengers in November 2008 compared to 3,294,000 in November 2007.

Qantas International experienced a fall of 8.4% in passenger numbers carried, to 623,000 in November 2008 from 680,000 in November 2007.

But Jetstar International had a rise of 5.6%, to 146,000 from 138,000.

Passenger numbers on Qantas Domestic fell 7.4% to 1,368,000 from 1,478,000; QantasLink fell 8.3% to 355,000 from 387,000; but Jetstar Domestic lifted 11% to 678,000 from 611,000.

Revenue Passenger Kilometres (RPKs) for the group dropped 5.2%, and Available Seat Kilometres (ASKs) were down 1.0%, resulting in a revenue seat factor of 78.3%, which was 3.4 percentage points lower than the prior year.

RPKs represent the number of paying passengers carried multiplied by the number of kilometres flown.

ASKs measure the number of seats multiplied by the number of kilometres flown.

Group passenger numbers for the financial year to November 2008 were down 0.7% from the prior year, to 16,397,000 from 16,520,000.

Again, passenger numbers on Jetstar were up whereas numbers on the other carriers in the group were down.

Jetstar International recorded a rise of 24.8%, and Jetstar Domestic rose 11.6%.

Qantas International was down 7.2%, Qantas Domestic fell 5.0%, and QantasLink dropped 0.7%.

RPKs fell 2.3%, but ASKs rose by 0.6%, resulting in a revenue seat factor of 79.6%, which was 2.4 percentage points lower than the prior year.

Total domestic (Qantas, QantasLink and Jetstar domestic operations) yield, excluding exchange, for the financial year to November 2008, was 2.2% lower, compared to the same period last year.

Total international (Qantas and Jetstar international operations) yield, excluding exchange, rose 4.9% compared with the same period in the prior year.

Qantas shares were nine cents lower at $2.49 in trading today.

Sydney-London Airfare War Heats Up


Virgin Atlantic has raised the stakes in the Sydney-to-London airfare war, reducing prices to just $1892 return including taxes.

The news of the cheap flights came less than 24-hours after SpiceNews reported on Thursday (Jan 22) the best value deals on offer to London on a selection of the world’s leading airlines. In the report, Thai Airways was the cheapest at $1810, with Virgin Atlantic offering tickets on the same leg for $2045.

However the UK carrier promised it would offer some of its cheapest ever airfares to London in 2009 as part of its 25th anniversary, and that's exactly what Virgin Atlantic has done.

“We're launching some of our lowest ever fares to London and what a way to kick off the year,” said Virgin Atlantic general manager – Australia, Luke Fisher.

“After a cracking 2008, we're envisaging that fares like these will keep our planes full and more passengers will see why we won 'Best long haul airline' at last year's British Travel Awards.”

The $1892 fares are valid for departures between now and March 29, 2009, and must be booked by January 31, 2009.

Problems for aviation in regional Queensland.:(
Their website also not seeming to take bookings

Mark.

--------------------

Receiver hopeful of saving MacAir
Brisbane Times
January 30, 2009 - 4:53PM
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/queensland/receiver-hopeful-of-saving-macair/2009/01/30/1232818717862.html

The receiver appointed to Queensland regional airline MacAir is hopeful of returning it to full service.

MacAir last year secured a five-year Queensland Transport contract to operate subsidised air services to communities across the unprofitable northern, western and gulf regions.

The airline also operates commercial services across the state.

But in recent months, despite an increased subsidy from the government, passengers have been left stranded due to delays and cancellations of flights.

The situation came to a head last week when the government announced MacAir would vary its contract, effectively meaning a new open tender for the air services would be called after two months.

MacAir asked the government for a $7 million one-off ex-gratia payment, not linked to performance, which was refused.

Yesterday it went into voluntary administration and today it was put in the hands of receiver and manager Justin Walsh from Ernst & Young.

Mr Walsh said he was positive about the airline's future.

"The government and ourselves are working together very cooperatively in what is a reasonably difficult situation.

"I'm hopeful that in the next few days the planes will be back in the air and it will be business as usual, with a view to selling the business as a going concern."

He said he had already received calls from interested buyers.

Transport Minister John Mickel said the government would charter planes at a cost of $7,000 each to cover routes in the short term.

In the longer term, Queensland Transport would go back to the market and re-tender the air service contracts, he said.

Mr Mickel said one chartered flight operated on Friday and two more were due to fly over the weekend. The government would continue to provide alternative travel until receivers made a decision regarding the company's future.

But he said the government would not bail out the stricken airline.

MacAir chief executive Dale Webb said he sympathised with passengers.

"The financial drag has translated across to less than perfect service.

"We have had occasions where aircraft have not had spare parts available and we have grounded aircraft, leading to flight cancellations."

He said he was "certain" MacAir would return to service in the near future, but the problem of unprofitable routes would remain.

Mr Webb said he did not intend to point the blame at any party.

"We need a situation where somehow or other the revenue exceeds the cost.

"The routes are so long and thin they would never be profitable, but they are an essential part of infrastructure around Queensland."

He said MacAir was often known as the "scheduled Flying Doctor", as passengers used its services to get to medical treatment.

AAP

Flights replace MacAir - Help for bush towns
1 February 2009
Sunday Mail, The

CAIRNS-based regional airline Skytrans is coming to the rescue of passengers stranded by failed operator MacAir.

Skytrans chief executive officer Simon Wild said his company was working with key stakeholders and State Government officials to fill the void left by MacAir, which was placed in receivership on Friday.

The move put the future of flights to 32 regional towns, including Hughenden, Richmond, Julia Creek, Burketown and Mount Isa, in doubt.

Mr Wild said he hoped to resume many of MacAir's flights this week.

Skytrans, which employs 250 staff, services regional North Queensland and charters flights throughout Australia and the South Pacific.

Flights expected to resume soon include areas such as Kowanyama and Edward River in the state's north.

``We will be doing our best to assist in whatever way we practically can to alleviate the situation for passengers and get them to their destinations,'' Mr Wild said.

Schedules will be updated on the Skytrans website.

Meanwhile, stranded MacAir passengers said they had to wait at the Townsville Airport for several hours before being told the company had collapsed along with their flight plans.

Julia Creek resident Chris Rae said she was due to fly out of Townsville at 7.15am on Friday morning after undergoing eye surgery.

``It was booked well in advance,'' she said. ``I rang up the day before to confirm it was still the right time and I was told it had been changed to 10.15am and to get to the airport at 9.30am.''

Ms Rae said she arrived at the airport at 8am and the MacAir counter was empty.

A staff member later told Ms Rae all flights had been cancelled and passengers would have another update at noon.

McKinlay Shire Mayor Cr Paul Woodhouse organised a charter flight for the group and they eventually left Townsville about 4.30pm.

Emirates A380 en route to Sydney and Auckland

Emirates Airline notched up yet another first today as it operated the world's first A380 commercial service from Dubai to Australia and New Zealand.
United Arab Emirates: 37 minutes ago PRESS RELEASE


Taking off from its new home - Emirates Terminal 3, Dubai International Airport - EK 412 will arrive in Sydney and Auckland to a rousing welcome tomorrow. Emirates A380 will operate from Dubai to Sydney and across the Tasman to Auckland every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday.
Today's A380 service also heralds a new era for flights Down Under as it adopted a host of green measures to maximise its environmental efficiency. The green best-practice demonstration flight employed new technology and multi-government co-operation to create ultra-efficient flexible routings and to minimise fuel burn.

Does EK have rights to carry passengers between Australia and New Zealand?

Qantas says open to merger opportunities in Asia

MADRID, Feb 3 (Reuters) - Qantas Chief Executive Officer Alan Joyce said on Tuesday the airline was open to merger opportunities in Asia, but was not in any active talks.

"We are always looking at opportunities in Asia and the region," Joyce said at a meeting of the 'oneworld' airline alliance in Madrid.

"We are not actively involved in dialogue with anybody at this stage," the CEO said.

In December, Qantas and British Airways called off talks for a $6.4 billion merger after failing to agree on terms as the sector grapples with falling demand and volatile fuel prices.

Joyce said the Australian air carrier had not seen any further fall in long-haul demand since the sharp drop it registered last September and October.

"We saw the international business for Qantas take a hit because of a fall in premium traffic," Joyce said. "Since then we haven't seen any further deterioration, but we keep monitoring the volatile environment."

"We have plans, if things improve, to grow in the market again, but we also have plans, if things get worse, to take further action if need be," he added.

Old News, but has not been posted here yet.

Source: http://www.etihadairways.com/sites/etihad/global/en/aboutetihad/mediacenter/newslisting/newsdetails/pages/EtihadtolaunchflightstoMelbournein2009.aspx?fromNewsListing=true

Etihad Airways will launch non-stop daily services from its Abu Dhabi home-base to Melbourne, Australia from March 2009.
Melbourne, which has a population of nearly four million people and is the capital of the Australian state of Victoria, will become the third destination in the country to be served by Etihad.
James Hogan, Etihad Airways’ chief executive officer, said: “Since the successful launch of our services to Sydney and Brisbane, we have been particularly eager to spread our wings and expand our Australian operations even further. I hope that our new Melbourne flights will also prove to be a winner for both commercial and leisure traveller alike.”
“Etihad looks forward to opening up further trade and holiday-maker traffic business in both the UAE and Australia by creating direct links between Abu Dhabi and Melbourne.”
The UAE is Australia's second-largest commercial market in the Gulf region. During 2006-7, Australia's exports to the UAE increased 45 per cent to reach Dhs 8.5 billion, while imports from the UAE rose 162.3 per cent to Dhs 6 billion of which Dhs 5.3 billion was crude oil. In the same period, bilateral trade between the UAE and Australia exceeded Dhs 14.6 billion.
The Australian Embassy in Abu Dhabi estimates there are around nearly 15,000 Australian nationals and more than 300 Australian companies in the UAE. Around a third of all Middle East tourists to Australia are from the UAE.
The activities of Australian companies in the UAE include building and construction, financial and banking services, education and training services, sports and recreation, health services and oil field supplies.
Melbourne follows the introduction of highly successful Sydney and Brisbane route launches in 2007 by Etihad. Within its first year of Australian operations, the airline tripled flights to and from Australia and carried more than 100,000 passengers.
The airline announced recently that from October it will increase its Abu Dhabi to Sydney flights from seven to 11 per week.
Etihad Airways becomes the first international airline during the last two years to start flights into Melbourne.
His Excellency Jeremy Bruer, the Australian Ambassador to the UAE, said: “This announcement is great news for the UAE and Australia and will, I’m sure, be warmly welcomed by the business community and leisure travellers in both countries.
“Etihad’s flights to Sydney and Brisbane have proved incredibly popular and I have little doubt that the airline’s latest service between Abu Dhabi and Melbourne will prove equally successful. The airline should be congratulated for the significant contribution it has already made to strengthen ties between our two nations.”
Chris Woodruff, chief executive officer of Melbourne Airport, added: “Victoria has established itself as an attractive destination for business, trade and tourism. The new services represent the opportunities and growth potential that this vibrant state has to offer to world-class airlines such as Etihad Airways.”
The news follows the recent announcement by Etihad at the Farnborough International Airshow that the airline is to order 100 new Airbus and Boeing wide and narrow body aircraft at list prices of US $22 billion, for delivery between 2011 and 2020.
The airline remains on track to achieve its 2008 target of carrying six million passengers and increase to 50 the number of destinations on its growing global network by the end of the year.
Etihad Airways will operate a three cabin Airbus A340-600 to Melbourne. It is configured to carry 286 passengers, with 12 in first class, 30 in business class and 244 in economy class.

Does EK have rights to carry passengers between Australia and New Zealand?

Yes, To Auckland and Christchurch. Get to fly B777, A340-500 and now A380 between Oz and NZ.

Light aircraft lands in Australian harbour
6 February 2009
Agence France Presse

A light aircraft made an emergency landing in shallow water in an Australian harbour Friday and the pilot and five passengers waded safely to shore, authorities said.

The Piper Chieftain was carrying a group of IT technicians bound for a remote Aboriginal desert community to do computer maintenance when it ditched shortly after take-off from Darwin in northern Australia, police said.

"Apparently the pilot experienced some engine trouble on take-off and realised he wouldn't be able to make it back to the airport so he's made a decision to land it on the beach," spokesman Rob Farmer told reporters.

The pilot and his passengers -- who were travelling to the Maningrida community -- were unharmed and waded the 200 metres (yards) to shore, he said.

"It is unclear what caused the engine troubles that prompted the emergency landing but the pilot did a remarkable job," Farmer said.

Witness Mel Collins told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation she saw the plane go down.

"I was just chilling out with my first cup of coffee for the morning and a plane came from the left... and really close to the water," she told ABC local radio.

"It was really close, and I was thinking what's going on with it, and then it touched down in the water."

The aircraft's owners and employer of the technicians on board, CSG Services, commended pilot Steve Bolle.

"At this point the cause of the incident remains unknown, however we would like to congratulate the pilot following all emergency landing and evacuation procedures and his very professional handling of the situation," CSG said in a statement.

Denis Mackenzie, the company's managing director, said Bolle realised one of the plane's engines had lost power and his response was "very cool".

"It was definitely really dramatic, it happened so soon after they took off, to go up and come down again like that," Mackenzie told local commercial radio.

Richard Branson takes delivery of V Australia 777
7 February 2009

EVERETT, Wash. (AP) - Virgin Group Chairman Richard Branson cavorted with bikini-clad cabin crew attendants amid fake palm trees as he accepted a new Boeing 777 at the factory in Everett, Wash. But Branson also had harsh words for Boeing.

He said Virgin Blue Holdings' new budget service between Sydney, Australia, and the Los Angeles area, under the title V Australia, would have begun flights around Christmas, rather than later this month, if not for the Boeing machinists strike last year.

He called the delivery delay "catastrophic."

And he added that if union leaders and management "can't get their act together to avoid strikes, we're not going to come back here again."

Boeing spokesman Jim Proulx later told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, "We are committed to doing everything we can in the future to satisfy our customers in the manner they deserve."

A two-month autumn strike by production workers paralyzed the company's commercial aircraft factories around Seattle.

The plane accepted Friday is the first of seven new 777-300ERs for V Australia.

Light aircraft lands in Australian harbour
6 February 2009
Agence France Presse

A light aircraft made an emergency landing in shallow water in an Australian harbour Friday and the pilot and five passengers waded safely to shore, authorities said.

The Piper Chieftain was carrying a group of IT technicians bound for a remote Aboriginal desert community to do computer maintenance when it ditched shortly after take-off from Darwin in northern Australia, police said.

"Apparently the pilot experienced some engine trouble on take-off and realised he wouldn't be able to make it back to the airport so he's made a decision to land it on the beach," spokesman Rob Farmer told reporters.

The pilot and his passengers -- who were travelling to the Maningrida community -- were unharmed and waded the 200 metres (yards) to shore, he said.

"It is unclear what caused the engine troubles that prompted the emergency landing but the pilot did a remarkable job," Farmer said.

Witness Mel Collins told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation she saw the plane go down.

"I was just chilling out with my first cup of coffee for the morning and a plane came from the left... and really close to the water," she told ABC local radio.

"It was really close, and I was thinking what's going on with it, and then it touched down in the water."

The aircraft's owners and employer of the technicians on board, CSG Services, commended pilot Steve Bolle.

"At this point the cause of the incident remains unknown, however we would like to congratulate the pilot following all emergency landing and evacuation procedures and his very professional handling of the situation," CSG said in a statement.

Denis Mackenzie, the company's managing director, said Bolle realised one of the plane's engines had lost power and his response was "very cool".

"It was definitely really dramatic, it happened so soon after they took off, to go up and come down again like that," Mackenzie told local commercial radio.

I'm surprised he didn't get eaten by crocodiles or sharks. Darwin Harbour is a dangerous place. It's not safe to go to the beaches there either.

Qantas flight turns back after 'loud bang'


Australia's troubled national carrier Qantas has suffered another blow with a flight leaving Melbourne forced to turn back after experiencing "technical issues" shortly after take-off.

Flight QF25 from Melbourne to Los Angeles left Tullamarine at about 1pm today and was still climbing when passengers heard what they described as a loud bang.

"We were still going up when we heard this really loud bang and the plane started to level out," passenger Cormac Lally said.

"Not long after, the pilot came on the speaker and said we're going to turn back. It was pretty full-on."

The latest incident occurs in the same week Qantas was forced to sack an unqualified employee who had carried out critical maintenance work on its fleet of aircraft.

It also follows a horror 2008 in which the airline uncovered another fake engineer and had a variety of mid-air incidents.

A spokeswoman for Qantas this afternoon confirmed the plane was forced to return to Melbourne, but said there was "no safety issue and no emergency".

Mr Lally said a loudspeaker announcement after landing said the B747/400 was "unserviceable".

The spokeswoman said the airline was sending a replacement aircraft from Sydney.

"A replacement aircraft is due to leave shortly after midnight tonight, Melbourne time," the spokeswoman said.

Passengers from the flight have been put up in a hotel within Tullamarine Airport.

^^ Qantas has really been troubled over the last 15 months...

What was the loud bang though?

VAustralia takes a chance on playful approach
13 February 2009
The Australian

GO into VAustralia's toilets and you'll find yourself listening to a bizarre swing version of Nirvana's Smells Like Teen Spirit or possibly a rendition of Led Zeppelin's Stairway to Heaven by a singer who sounds suspiciously like Dolly Parton.

Over at the business-class bar you perch under a dome -- apparently inspired by those on World War II bombers -- featuring mood lighting with a simulated Australian night sky and a Southern Cross centrepiece.

Then there are the business-class areas that can be isolated with double-thickness curtains to give the feeling of flying in your own personal cabin.

These were inspired by the days when crew rest areas were simply a curtained-off area at the back of economy class.

That isn't the case any more -- the pilots have a crew rest featuring seats, beds and in-flight entertainment in the roof at the front of the plane, while flight attendants have an eight-bed facility above the cabin at the rear -- but the idea still works, giving a retro feel to the cabin.

That's before you get to the wall coverings with hidden Australian icons, the Sydney Opera House-shaped salt and pepper shakers, the complimentary inflight VAustralia business-class thongs and funky cartoon safety video featuring Richard Branson.

Designers and company officials have obviously had a lot of fun putting this plane together and chief executive Brett Godfrey is the first to admit he was one of them: ``Basically we all had a go at it. The design consultants took away the ideas and came back with fabrics and things like that that we worked through, but they never led the discussion.

``The beauty of it was that it was fresh minds and not again the airline 101 way of doing it.

``I honestly think this is the next generation of airline -- it's just different. The zones, the segments -- in a way, it's a bit more retro.

``If you go back to the 1970s, you did have these sorts of play zones that airlines can no longer afford.''

There were differences of opinion along the way but the consensus as the airline's first Boeing 777-300ER winged its way to Australia this week was that the features would be crowd-pleasers. Godfrey admits he did not initially want a bar in the plane because he was worried it would take away revenue seats but was talked into it by major shareholder Richard Branson.

Sir Richard's Virgin Atlantic also was a design consultant on the project.

``This entryway costs about $1million an aeroplane to do, so it has to work,'' Godfrey says as he sits at the bar jotting down points for his arrival speech.

``We went through about 27 drawings then we got to about three mock-ups. This is a little bit more private.

``If people want to sit down and have a chat they don't necessarily want a crew member hovering around.''

VAustralia had already decided to go for a premium economy section before Qantas introduced it, but Godfrey admits to waiting for the A380 to be revealed to see what the opposition was doing.

It knew the class was working well on sister airline Virgin Atlantic and decided to put big emphasis on the cabin with 40 seats, compared with 33 in business.

Business-class is designed to compete with the latest available, featuring a fully horizontal flat bed with a 77in seat pitch in two-three-two configuration, with laptop power, a USB slot and reading light. The latest 12.1in screen, originally destined for the Boeing 787, connects with the plane-wide Panasonic on-demand entertainment system.

Other features include Riedel glassware, Narumi china, noise-cancelling headphones, pyjamas and doonas.

The Virgin boss says the smaller business class is less risky and makes it more exclusive than the giant business-class cabins on the A380.

``This just brings back to me the era of romance and exclusivity,'' he says.

Premium economy features 288 all-leather seats that are 20in wide, and have 38in of legroom and 9in recline. Premium economy passengers also have their own self-service bar.

Economy class features a three-three-three configuration with ergonomically designed seats that the airline says are the widest on the Pacific run. It has a 32in seat pitch and a 6in recline with a 10.6in seat-back screen for the on-demand videos, games and music.

``We were very focused on not going 10-abreast in the back -- at least not for now,'' Godfrey says. ``We thought that until we get into the market we would give people extra room.''

Godfrey hopes VAustralia's style will rub off Virgin Blue as it moves away from its low-cost roots to become ``a new-world airline'' with facilities such as lounges, in-flight entertainment and premium economy seating.

``We would never have spent $1 million on anything short-haul for Virgin Blue.

``So we've just had a bit of fun with this and taken a risk at a tough time.''

Steve Creedy flew to the US courtesy of Boeing and VAustralia.

VIRGIN BLUE UNDERTAKES PHASE TWO OF AIRCRAFT REDEPLOYMENT STRATEGY

FIVE BRAND NEW ROUTES TO BE INTRODUCED TO NETWORK

CANBERRA – HOBART ~ CANBERRA – TOWNSVILLE ~ TOWNSVILLE – GOLD COAST ~ TOWNSVILLE – CAIRNS ~ TOWNSVILLE - ROCKHAMPTON

Wednesday 11 February 2009: Virgin Blue Airlines has announced it will launch five brand new services between a number of ports on its network including daily return flights between Canberra – Hobart, Canberra – Townsville, Townsville-Gold Coast, Townsville –Rockhampton as well as Townsville - Cairns. The new services will all commence from Monday 6 April.

The new flights are a result of the company’s strategic review in 2008 which highlighted an opportunity for the airline to redeploy aircraft from under–performing markets onto other routes.

Virgin Blue Chief Executive, Brett Godfrey, said, “Like all businesses, in these challenging times we need to keep our finger on the pulse and position our resources where they are most needed.

“The redeployment of some of our Embraer fleet to previously un-serviced routes is great news for these ports, in particular Townsville which has jagged four out of the five new services, because it means more convenient, regular and affordable direct air services which will provide plenty of choice for travellers.”

It is the first time since Virgin Blue launched in 2000 that the airline will offer flights between regional centres (Townsville – Cairns Townsville – Rockhampton and Townsville – Gold Coast). Fittingly, Townsville was also the very first regional centre the airline launched services to in March 2001 and will be the first port to be directly connected by Virgin Blue to not one, but three, other regional centres.

Special online SALE FARES for each of the routes go on sale from today until 17 February 2009, for travel from first day of nonstop service until 25 June:

* Canberra – Hobart $99* one-way on the internet
* Canberra – Townsville $149* one-way on the internet
* Townsville-Gold Coast $99* one-way on the internet
* Townsville-Cairns $69* one-way on the internet
* Townsville-Rockhampton $69* one-way on the internet

Virgin Blue will operate its executive-style EMBRAER E-Jets on all the new routes offering two by two seating configuration.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://virginblue.com.a/AboutUs/Med...s/P_007447.htm (http://virginblue.com.au/AboutUs/Media/NewsandPressReleases/P_007447.htm)

^^ ==> now heres the bad news :ohno:

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Virgin to shed up to 400 jobs
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,25069178-3102,00.html
Courier Mail, February 17, 2009 04:56pm

VIRGIN Blue will lose up to 400 jobs as the Queensland-based airline continues to battle the worsening effects of the global economic crisis.
The airline - which less than two weeks ago was advertising 1000 $1 airfares - told the Australian Stock Exchange (http://www.asx.com.au/asxpdf/20090217/pdf/31g36bd7235l5g.pdf) the move was in response to a forecast reduction in domestic demand.

Virgin Blue will take up to five aircraft off its routes during 2009/2010 as it cuts capacity by eight percent.

The airline, which flagged capacity reductions at its annual general meeting last year, says the cuts will affect "up to 400 full-time equivalent positions" at Virgin.
It says the carrier hopes to minimise "headcount reduction" by transfer staffing staff to its international offshoot V Australia, as well as part-time work, job sharing, and leave without pay "amongst other contingencies under consideration".
Analysts have said previously the airline's international expansion will be challenging (http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,,24992909-3122,00.html) on the hotly contested Pacific route.
Qantas has been forced into a significant restructure of its flight schedule amid the continuing economic turmoil.
Low-cost offshoot Jetstar will replace the Flying Kangaroo throughout New Zealand's domestic market from June 10 and the schedules for China and India will be overhauled.
Chief executive Alan Joyce remained positive despite the changes.
``These changes are about adjusting our schedules to meet the needs of those markets alongside our own need to generate reasonable returns on our operations,'' Mr Joyce said in a statement.
Qantas will also cut its Melbourne-Shanghai and Sydney-Beijing flights, but the Sydney-Shanghai service will be increased from five flights per week to seven from March 31.

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Mark.

More Bad News ...

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Virgin Blue vulnerable to takeover, says Regional Express
http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,25072756-3102,00.html
Courier Mail, February 18, 2009 01:15pm

DOMESTIC airline Regional Express says the battling Queensland-based Virgin Blue is extremely vulnerable to a takeover bid - either hostile or friendly.
Speaking to investors at the company's first half results briefing, Rex chairman Kim Hai Lim said Virgin Blue was a takeover target.
"Virgin's shareholdings have been extremely fragmented, which means that Virgin is now extremely vulnerable to a takeover bid, whether hostile or friendly," Mr Lim said.
Mr Lim said Rex had purchased a parcel of Virgin Blue shares so it could have some influence over the future of the company.
"We purchased a block of Virgin shares," he said.
"We were hoping that we could take a small strategic interest so we could have some small influence as to the future of Virgin.
"Virgin does have an impact on regional aviation and it has already entered some of our markets.
"So we felt it was in our strategic interest.
"Also we do feel there is a certain undervaluation of Virgin shares."
Rex had 19.1 million Virgin Blue shares as at December 31, equating to about 1.82 per cent of the stock.
The Singaporean investors behind Rex hold about a 55 per cent stake in the carrier are also said to be quietly building up their stake in Virgin Blue.
Budget airline Virgin Blue announced yesterday 400 jobs (http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,25069178-3122,00.html) would be affected when it axes as many as five aircraft from its local fleet, although it was too early to say whether these would include redundancies.

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Mark.

Another take on this story

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Airlines set to ground flights, jobs
Brisbane Times, Mathew Murphy | February 18, 2009 - 5:47AM
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/travel/virgin-blue-to-sack-400-staff/2009/02/17/1234632803959.html


AS MANY as 400 jobs could go at Australia's second largest airline, Virgin Blue, after it revealed plans to ground up to five aircraft in response to the global economic slump.
Qantas has also announced cuts to its international services, and Australians have been warned of an end to heavily-discounted domestic fares as the aviation industry braces for a massive downturn.
In a statement to the Australian Securities Exchange yesterday, Virgin Blue said it would take up to five aircraft out of service in the 2009-10 financial year and use them as operational spares.
The decision will reduce the airline's capacity by about 8 per cent and affect up to 400 full-time equivalent positions. However, Virgin says it will consider transferring staff to its new long-haul carrier, V Australia, offering part-time work, job sharing and leave without pay.
Managers across the company are being asked to look at the scope for staff cuts. But it is believed that Virgin will not withdraw from any routes completely as part of the reduction.
In a memo to staff yesterday, Virgin Blue chief executive Brett Godfrey said the airline would move into "safe and secure mode" for the next two years. He said he was not pessimistic but pragmatic about the downturn in the aviation industry.
In December, Mr Godfrey warned staff that the airline was carrying too many employees but advised against listening to "media speculation" on job cuts.
Yesterday's announcement came after Mr Godfrey warned on Monday that a reduction in capacity could see the end of the heavily-discounted fares.
"At the moment we're very happy to discount, but the discounted fares out there will be difficult to sustain with the level of capacity that we have," he said. "We will be doing what we can to see if we can even it up in average fares through taking some capacity out."
Potentially adding to its woes, Virgin's new international carrier, V Australia, will take off on its first commercial flight next week, flying into one of the roughest periods in aviation.
The drop-off in business travel has led Qantas to cut its services into China and to relaunch its domestic operations in New Zealand using its budget carrier Jetstar.
Qantas' Melbourne-to-Shanghai and Sydney-to-Beijing services will be cut within months following a 20 per cent decline in business travel since October. A new daily service from Sydney to Shanghai, to begin from March 31, will aim to pick up the leftover demand. Qantas has also scrapped direct flights from Australia to Mumbai from May, with India-bound flights now to depart from Singapore.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce told The Age that the company's New Zealand domestic services would be transferred to its discount carrier Jetstar from June 10 in a bid to lower costs and provide cheaper fares.
"We were seeing our performance as a loss-making exercise in the domestic New Zealand market," Mr Joyce said.
"There have been occasions where we have dipped into profits just to keep it running," he said.
"We felt the best way of making a return and the best way of being very competitive in that market was to focus on Jetstar rather then share the market with Qantas.
"The Jetstar experience has worked on Christchurch to Australia. Qantas was underperforming on that route and now Jetstar is performing very well on it," Mr Joyce said.
The news from the Australian airlines came a day after Singapore Airlines confirmed it would cut capacity by 11 per cent from April. It will also decommission 17 planes.
Qantas shares closed at a year low, down 9.5¢, or over 5 per cent, to $1.765. Virgin Blue shares dipped 1¢ to 24.5¢
TURBULENT TIMES
■Virgin Blue to ground up to five aircraft
■Qantas to cut back international routes
■Singapore Airlines to retire planes and cut capacity
■Australians warned to expect fewer heavily-discounted fares
With AAP

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/ffximage/2009/02/17/470virgin.jpg
Budget carrier Virgin Blue will cut five planes from its fleet, a move that will impact on up to 400 jobs.
Photo: AFP

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Mark.

but thats not all, Queensland seems to be running out of airlines.

Its been a bad couple of weeks for Queensland aviation.


----------------------
Another Brisbane-based airline sheds jobs
Brisbane Times, Melissa Singer | February 18, 2009 - 12:57PM
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/queensland/another-brisbanebased-airline-sheds-jobs/2009/02/18/1234632871362.html (http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/queensland/another-brisbanebased-airline-sheds-jobs/2009/02/18/1234632871362.html)

Brisbane-based regional airline SkyAirWorld will shed 40 jobs and ground three aircraft as the company confronts the slowdown in the travel industry.
The airline confirmed this morning it had let go staff from its Brisbane base and closed its Cairns base, which serviced the Brisbane-Cairns-Cloncurry route.
The Cairns redundancies follow the airline's decision on February 6 to cease operating the north Queensland route after some of SkyAirWorld's key clients in the mining industry could not guarantee ongoing business.
A statement from SkyAirWorld, which also operates services to the Solomon Islands, said the airline was forced to act now to safeguard the company against the prolonged impact of the global economic crisis.
"With regret, this has lead to redundancies - a step that SkyAirWorld has made every effort to avoid," the statement read.
"This decision has not been made lightly and has been necessitated as a result of the world wide economic downturn and a need for restructuring of our core operations."
The redundancies will affect all departments of the company, a SkyAirWorld spokeswoman said.
She said the company previously had 100 staff and five aircraft.
SkyAirWorld CEO David Charlton said the company would assist staff members affected by the redundancies where possible.
"This action, though regrettable, is necessary to ensure the long-term sustainability of our organisation," he said.
Cairns Chamber of Commerce president Jeremy Blockie said the closure of the Cairns base, which opened in September, was unfortunate.
"To have it so quickly cut back was disappointing," he said.
The SkyAirWorld job losses follow yesterday's news budget airline Virgin Blue would shed 400 jobs and ground five aircraft.
CEO Brett Godfrey said some staff would be redeployed to Virgin's new international arm, V Australia, which launches flights to the US this month.
Mr Godfrey said the grounding of the aircraft may affect Virgin Blue's future ability to offer heavily discounted fares on some routes.
Last month, MacAir, which serviced outback Queensland, went into voluntary administration and receivership before winding up on February 6 with the loss of 180 jobs.
SkyTrans took over services to the Gulf previously operated by MacAir, under one of three emergency contracts awarded by the State Government.
QantasLink and WestWing will commence services to other areas early in March.
Tenders for a long-term contract for the Gulf routes will be finalised later in the year.
SkyAirWorld plans to launch new services from Perth to Christmas Island and the Cocos (Keeling) Islands in April.
With AAP

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Mark.

It's time for good news now.

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Qantas to Increase Los Angeles Flights

Qantas will add one more Airbus A380 flight between Los Angeles and Australia later this year.

The carrier currently operates five Los Angeles flights to Australia, but as of June 9 will add one more to the mix.

John Borghetti, executive general manager at Qantas, said: "The response from our customers has reaffirmed what we set out to achieve with the aircraft - to create a designer aircraft which exceeded our customers' expectations when it comes to comfort and functionality."

The Australian carrier first launched its A380 aircraft in October 2008. Since then, it has served 50,000 passengers.

Melbourne defies downward aviation trends
21 February 2009
The Age

MORE than 20,000 extra international passengers flew through Melbourne Airport in January compared with the same time last year, showing the state is standing strong against the downturn in the international market.

The news is a bright spot for the industry in a week in which Qantas exited a number of services to China and its direct service to India, and Virgin Blue flagged the possibility of cutting up to 400 jobs.

Results released yesterday by Macquarie Airports, majority owner of Sydney Airport, showed that international traffic fell 3.4 per cent in January compared with the same time last year. August was the last month in which Sydney Airport recorded positive growth in the international market. Melbourne Airport, boosted by two weeks of Australian Open tennis in January, recorded a 4.5 per cent increase in international traffic compared to the same time last year. The figure marks 27 consecutive months of international passenger growth for Melbourne.

Melbourne Airport chief executive Chris Woodruff said the result was heartening in the current economic climate and that the extra seats and more direct services being put into Victoria were being taken up.

"Demand for international air services to and from Melbourne has always been above supply and Melbourne passengers have had to use Sydney as an international entry and exit airport. More airlines are now serving Melbourne directly and more passengers are using these services," he said.

Moody's Investors Service has downgraded Qantas' long-term credit rating following a "sharp fall-off in consumer demand for air travel".

Some analysts had speculated that Qantas would slip from Baa1 to Baa2 once Moody's started its review in November, which eventuated despite the airline announcing capacity reductions, reallocating routes between Qantas and Jetstar and detailing plans to raise $500million in equity. "Rapid deceleration in consumer demand for air travel, especially premium and business travel, as a result of the global economic crisis, has been particularly noticeable since late 2008 and is likely to be a principal contributor to reduced earnings for the year ahead and beyond, depending upon the severity and duration of the current downturn", said Moody's vice-president Ian Lewis.

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said the confirmation of an investment grade credit rating and stable outlook confirmed the strength of the airline.

I would have thought, with all the sophisticated techology advances of the
A380, that they could at least have fixed the hole in the bottom of the fuel tanks .:nuts:

Mark.

Qantas grounds A380 superjumbos
Brisbane Times, March 3, 2009 - 1:38PM
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/travel/qantas-grounds-a380-superjumbos/2009/03/03/1235842392589.html (http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/travel/qantas-grounds-a380-superjumbos/2009/03/03/1235842392589.html)


All three of Qantas's much-hyped A380 aircraft have been grounded over the past four days due to recurring problems with the plane's fuel tank systems.

Qantas was forced to declare one of the aircraft "unserviceable" last night, after scores of passengers had waited more than 12 hours for a fuel leak to be repaired.

It has now emerged that the airline's other two A380 are grounded at Sydney airport after experiencing similar problems.

One is due to return to service at 5.40pm tonight and the other tomorrow.

The airline's flagship, the Nancy-Bird Walton, was delayed in Sydney for 19 hours on Saturday, before eventually being cleared to fly to London.

However, on arrival at Heathrow airport it was again found to be leaking fuel and experienced a nose wheel ground steering issue, being declared unserviceable.

A Qantas spokeswoman said it was natural to expect "the accessional shake down" with a new aircraft and the airline was working with airbus to resolve the issues.

"Our engineers are currently working to resolve the issue and we hope to have the aircraft return to service very soon," the spokeswoman said.

"We are working very closely with airbus, but we remain committed to the A380, as the cornerstone of our new generation. We apologise to our customers."

Three Qantas A380 superjumbos grounded in recent days
Herald Sun, David Murray in London, March 03, 2009 12:00am
http://www.news.com.au/travel/story/0,28318,25132739-5014090,00.html

QANTAS has been hit by a string of problems which have grounded all three of their flagship A380s in the past few days.
One of the planes was back in service this morning, but the other two were declared unserviceable with a fuel tank indication system problem, reports The Herald Sun.

"Qantas is an early customer of the A380 and naturally, as with any new aircraft type and like other operators of the A380, we expect the occasional issue to arise," the airline said in a statement.

"We are working very closely with Airbus to resolve these but we remain committed to the A380 as the cornerstone of our new generation product offering."

The airline's first superjumbo, the Nancy-Bird Walton, was initially delayed for 19 hours in Sydney on Saturday because of a fuel leak.

After repair work the much-heralded plane was cleared to fly the "kangaroo route" to Singapore then London.

In London, it was again found to be leaking fuel and experienced a nose wheel ground steering issue. The plane was declared "unserviceable" and had to be grounded.

The episode comes after Qantas grounded the same plane due to a "minor technical fault" at Los Angeles airport five weeks ago.

In the latest incident, the Nancy-Bird Walton was scheduled to fly from London to Melbourne as a one-off because of the initial delay in Sydney.

Passengers travelling to Melbourne on flight QF10 were delayed for more than 16 hours as a result of the dramas.

One passenger stranded in London told News Ltd: "Lots of people were really excited to be going on the new plane.

"Now basically they've cancelled the flight because there's a fuel leak.

"It's a worry because it's brand new and a fuel problem is pretty serious."

They eventually left London on a Boeing 747 at 2.24pm Monday, instead of the original departure time of 10pm Sunday.

A Qantas spokeswoman yesterday said repairs had been completed and the Nancy-Bird Walton departed London for Melbourne on flight QF10 at 11.25pm Monday local time (10.25am Tuesday Melbourne).

The other two A380s were grounded in Sydney and engineers were ``currently working to resolve this and we hope to have both aircraft returned to service very soon'', the airline said.

Of the two "unserviceable" A380s in Sydney, one was scheduled to be ready to operate QF31 Sydney-Singapore-London at 5.40pm today.

The other A380 was scheduled to be back in operation tomorrow.

Qantas To Operate Daily A380 Services To London & Los Angeles
June 16, 2009 11:01 AM
By Neville D-Cruz
Source: http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=418215

MELBOURNE, June 16 (Bernama) -- Qantas said it would operate daily A380 services from Sydney to both London and Los Angeles by November.

Until then and beginning on August 6, Qantas said it would increase its A380 services to London to five services a week, from three weekly departures; the carrier said it would also launch four daily services to Los Angeles, from three.

The increased frequency would follow delivery of a fourth A380 aircraft in late July, Qantas said in a statement.

The arrival of a fifth and sixth aircraft would allow Qantas to increase Melbourne-Los Angeles flights to three A380 per week, from two departures now.

Qantas also said it would expand its European and North American networks via code-share agreements with partner airlines Iberia and American Airlines.

-- BERNAMA

Qantas Introduced International Online Check-In And Advance Seat Selection

The FINANCIAL -- Qantas has introduced international online check-in and advance seat selection, expanding the range of services available to customers.

Qantas Group Executive Manager Customer and Marketing, Ms Lesley Grant, said the new services would ensure an enhanced travel experience for customers.

"The ability to check-in online for international travel means customers can check-in at their leisure between 24 hours and two hours before their flight from their home, office or hotel," Ms Grant said.

"Customers who check-in online will enjoy a faster airport experience with dedicated online check-in counters for bag drop and necessary visa checks.

"And we are rewarding our top tier Frequent Flyers, (Platinum, Gold and Silver) with even more choice - the ability to choose their seat online.

"Immediately after making a booking, whether at qantas.com or through other booking channels, eligible Frequent Flyers are now able to request their seat for international flights."

Ms Grant said the new services were testament to the Qantas Group s continued investment in customer product and services.

"Over the past few years, Qantas has invested significantly in new generation product both inflight and on the ground, including lounge refurbishments, the introduction of our fourth cabin, International Premium Economy, and the delivery of our A380s," she said.

"Our aim is to provide travellers with a wide range of services to ensure a seamless travel experience, and customers can expect to see even more enhancements to domestic and international customer services later in 2009."

Qantas Flight From HK Encounters Severe Turbulence

By Iain McDonald
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
SYDNEY (Dow Jones)--Qantas Airways Ltd. (QAN.AU) said Monday that an Airbus A330-300 aircraft flying to Perth from Hong Kong encountered severe turbulence, injuring six passengers and one crew member.

The seven people were taken to hospital when the aircraft arrived in Perth but were later released.

"The aircraft most likely encountered what is known as convective turbulence, which led to it rapidly gaining around 800 feet in altitude before returning to its cruising altitude of 38,000 feet," said Qantas Group Executive Government and Corporate Affairs David Epstein.

"This convective turbulence is not normally visible to weather radar," he said.

Qantas reported the incident to the Australian Transport Safety Bureau, which will investigate.

The airline said there was no reason to link the incident to other recent in-flight incidents involving A330 aircraft.

There were 206 passengers and 13 flight and cabin crew on the aircraft, which hit the turbulence over Borneo, about four hours out of Hong Kong.

The flight captain reported minor damage to two overhead panels in the cabin and two oxygen masks were dislodged.

An A330 aircraft owned by Air France crashed into the Atlantic earlier this month on route to Paris from Rio de Janeiro with 228 people on board. The cause of that disaster is unknown.

-By Iain McDonald, Dow Jones Newswires; 61-2-8272-4681; iain.mcdonald@dowjones.com

Qantas Airlines making big changes in LA, London, Sydney...we're talkintravel

Here's the latest form Qantas airlines...they are making big changes to the LA, London, and Sydney services, check in, and new jet purchases. Read on for the latest:

1. QANTAS TO INCREASE A380 SERVICES FROM LOS ANGELES AND LONDON TO SYDNEY LOS ANGELES, Jun. 17, 2009 - Qantas announced today it would increase its A380 services between Los Angeles and Sydney and London and Sydney (via Singapore) from August 6, 2009. Qantas Airways Senior Executive Vice President, The Americas and Pacific, Wally R. Mariani, A.M., said the airline would take delivery of three new aircraft before the end of the year.

"Our fourth A380 arrives at the end of July, allowing us to increase Los Angeles-Sydney services from three to four per week and Sydney-Singapore-London A380 services from three to five per week," Mr. Mariani said.
"The arrival of our fifth and sixth aircraft later in the year will mean further increases in services to these key destinations. "By November, Qantas will operate daily A380 services between Los Angeles and Sydney and will increase Los Angeles to Melbourne services from two to three A380 flights per week. "By the end of 2009, Qantas will operate 34 services per week between the U.S. and Australia and the UK and Australia with its A380 fleet." Mr. Mariani said that since Qantas launched A380 services in October 2008, the airline had carried more than 200,000 passengers onboard the flagship aircraft. "The Qantas A380 has received exceptional feedback from our customers, and has reaffirmed what we set out to achieve - the creation of a designer aircraft which exceeds customer expectations when it comes to comfort and functionality. We are pleased to be the only airline flying the A380 in the U.S. and to Australia," Mr. Mariani said. The Qantas A380 is configured with 450 seats across four classes:
--First class - 14 luxurious and spacious suites;
--Business class - 72 new fully-flat Skybed sleeper seats;
--Premium Economy class - 32 extra wide seats with greater recline and
--Economy class - 332 state-of-the-art seats styled by Marc Newson and manufactured by Recaro.

For more information about Qantas, visit the web site at qantas.com.
2. QANTAS TO EXPAND NORTH AMERICAN AND EUROPEAN NETWORKS LOS ANGELES, Jun. 18, 2009 - Qantas today announced it would further expand its North American and European networks via codeshares with oneworld partner airlines American Airlines and Iberia.
Qantas Airways Senior Executive Vice President, The Americas and Pacific, Wally R. Mariani, A.M., said Qantas and Iberia would work together for the first time, while Qantas and American Airlines would grow their existing codeshare relationship which had been in place since 1989. " From June 17, 2009 Qantas will codeshare on select American Airlines operated flights to Atlanta, Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Detroit, Tampa, Cincinnati, New Orleans and Memphis, connecting with existing Qantas codeshare flights from Los Angeles and San Francisco via American Airlines' Dallas and Chicago hubs. " From July 15, 2009, Qantas will codeshare on Iberia services to Madrid via Frankfurt and London, while the Spanish carrier will place its code on Qantas services from Frankfurt and London to Sydney*. "These new codeshares with two of our oneworld alliance partners will provide Qantas customers with more travel options between North America, Europe and Australia," Mr. Mariani said.
"Qantas operates in its own right to Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Honolulu," Mr. Mariani said. "Adding eight destinations in partnership with American Airlines will grow our North American network to 42 cities - 36 in the United States and six in Canada. "The new relationship with Iberia will complement our existing British Airways codeshare services to
Madrid from London and also offer customers an alternative routing via Frankfurt." Qantas currently operates up to 35 services per week between the U.K. and Germany and Australia, and with oneworld partners, offers codeshare connections to 23 destinations in the U.K. and Europe. Iberia will be offering flights to Australia under its own code on Qantas operated services for the first time. Qantas Frequent Flyer program members will be able to earn points on all of the new codeshare services. About Qantas: The Qantas A380 features aircraft interiors designed by internationally renowned industrial designer and Qantas Creative Director Marc Newson. Providing more than 40 flights per week from the U.S., Qantas offers more than 30 non-stop flights from Los Angeles (to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Auckland), five from San Francisco, a daily direct service from JFK and three from Honolulu. A leader in in-flight entertainment, all Qantas mainland departures feature on demand video and audio selections for movies, TV programs, radio and games in all classes. For more information about Qantas, visit the web site at qantas.com. Subject to regulatory approval

3. QANTAS INTRODUCES INTERNATIONAL ONLINE CHECK-IN: LOS ANGELES, Jun. 22, 2009 - Qantas Airways has introduced international online check-in, expanding the range of services available to customers. Qantas Senior Executive Vice President, The Americas and Pacific, Wally R. Mariani, A.M., said the new check-in service would ensure an enhanced travel experience for customers. "The ability to check-in online for international travel means customers can check-in at their leisure between 24 hours and two hours before their flight from their home, office or hotel," Mr. Mariani said. "Customers who check-in online will enjoy a faster airport experience with dedicated online check-in counters for bag drop and necessary visa checks. Mr. Mariani said the new services were a testament to the Qantas Group's continued investment in customer product and services. "Over the past few years, Qantas has invested significantly in new generation product both inflight and on the ground, including lounge refurbishments, the introduction of our fourth cabin -International Premium Economy - and the delivery of our A380s," he said.
"Our aim is to provide travelers with a wide range of services to ensure a seamless travel experience, and customers can expect to see even more enhancements to domestic and international customer services later in 2009."
About Qantas
Qantas is the only airline providing Airbus A380 services to the U.S. and to Australia. The Qantas A380 features aircraft interiors designed by internationally renowned industrial designer and Qantas Creative Director Marc Newson. Providing more than 40 flights per week from the U.S., Qantas offers more than 30 non-stop flights from Los Angeles (to Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Auckland), five from San Francisco, a daily direct service from JFK and three from Honolulu. A leader in in-flight entertainment, all Qantas mainland departures feature on demand video and audio selections for movies, TV programs, radio and games in all classes.
For more info: www.qantas.com http://tinyurl.com/talkintravel

Jetstar launches new New Zealand services

By Siva Govindasamy

Jetstar, Australian carrier Qantas' low-cost subsidiary, has launched a Wellington-Christchurch service in New Zealand and introduced additional Auckland-Wellington and Auckland-Christchurch services in the country.

In addition to the new once-daily Wellington-Christchurch service, Jetstar has increased the Auckland-Wellington service to three times daily and Auckland-Christchurch to six times daily.

The airline, which took over the New Zealand domestic operations from Qantas on 10 June, says that the addition of a third Airbus A320 aircraft into the country has made the services possible and allowed the airline to introduce a new schedule with better timings.

"The introduction of a third A320 aircraft into our domestic New Zealand fleet has provided the appropriate opportunity to introduce a more refined schedule across our network," says Bruce Buchanan, Jetstar's chief executive.

"Importantly, this includes better timed services, more time buffers throughout the operating day to recover from weather related delays, and longer block and turn times in the respective Wellington and Queenstown markets."

Jetstar offers 84 weekly return services between Auckland, Christchurch, Wellington and Queenstown, and 42 weekly flights across the Tasman Sea from Auckland and Christchurch in New Zealand. A Qantas code share is offered on all Jetstar domestic and trans-Tasman New Zealand services, says the airline.


http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2009/06/24/328741/jetstar-launches-new-new-zealand-services.html

Qantas may buy some time after Boeing setback
25 June 2009
The Advertiser

BOEING'S sudden decision yesterday to cancel the first flight of its controversial 787 Dreamliner and delay deliveries for a fifth time, could be a gift to Qantas bean counters.

It allows Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce to shore up the carrier's balance sheet by deferring $3.1 billion in fleet replacement costs.

The carbon fibre jetliner was pulled off the flight line at Everett assembly plant near Seattle on Tuesday after structural faults were found on a wing when it was bent and stress-tested.

Last night aviation sources suggested the new delay could put back the first 787 deliveries beyond 2011.

The first 15 787s, costing about $212 million each, are earmarked for Jetstar and are due to arrive in staged deliveries over 15 months.

Until yesterday, the first jet was due in Sydney next May. It was to be used to open up new routes into north Asia.

Qantas is Boeing's biggest 787 customer, with 65 firm orders as well as taking options and purchase rights over another 50 aircraft.

Brisbane's misty, moisty morning planely bad for travellers
25 June 2009
The Courier-Mail

HEAVY fog at Brisbane Airport caused a knock-on effect around the nation yesterday, as flights were delayed and diverted.

The fog settled over the city about 12.30am and had lifted by about 7am. Two hours later a second fog bank was blown in from the west, lifting about an hour later.

Weather bureau forecaster Chris Joseph said that while it was ``an unusual event'', there was a chance of fog again this morning.

Brisbane Airport spokesman Jim Carden said one international flight was diverted to Noumea, one to Sydney and two to the Gold Coast. A further five flights were put in a holding pattern and two domestic flights were diverted. ``It took a couple of hours for the schedule to come back into alignment and it affected networks across the country, which is pretty normal for this time of year,'' he said.

``We get fog-bound six to 10 times a year, which isn't much compared with some airports around the world.''

Mr Joseph said extremely high moisture levels after days of wet weather, a low inversion level, light winds and clear skies provided perfect conditions for fog.

``This caused the suspension of small water droplets in the air, reducing visibility to less than 1km,'' Mr Joseph said.

``Basically what happens is that moisture is trapped under the inversion layer. The air then becomes totally saturated.''

AUSTRALIA'S MACQUARIE AIRPORTS INCREASES STAKE IN SYDNEY AIRPORT

SYDNEY, June 24 Asia Pulse - Australia's Macquarie Airports (ASX:MAP) has increased its stake in Sydney Airport to 74 per cent through its cash payment to help reduce the airport's debt.

Macquarie Airports paid $A711 million ($US564.61 million) as Sydney Airport shareholders paid a total $870 million to retire debt maturing this September and November, the Sydney-based company said in a statement on Wednesday.

Sydney Airport's net senior debt is now $4.6 billion with no material maturities till September 2011.

Based on earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of $657 million for the 12 months to March 31, the net debt to EBITDA ratio is seven times.

Sydney Airport's EBITDA grew 2.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2009.

Macquarie Airports' cash balance stood at $766 million, before taking into account the expected proceeds from the coming tender of the company's interest in Japan Airport Terminal.

Sky's the limit: airline tipped to quit US route
24 June 2009
The Sydney Morning Herald

THE battle on Australia-US flight paths intensifies next week when the US carrier Delta Air Lines begins flights. But analysts are already tipping that one carrier will give up the fight.

A UBS analyst, Simon Mitchell, believes either one of the two new entrants Delta and Virgin Blue's long-haul carrier, V Australia or United Airlines could be forced off the route due to the intense competition. He believes the most likely to quit will be United, because of an "inferior product and less network pull".

However, many industry insiders question Delta's commitment to the route. It is due to begin daily services between Sydney and Los Angeles on July 3.

Either way, the competition poses a big challenge to Qantas.

UBS expects the Qantas brand's contribution to group earnings to fall from $1 billion in 2008-09 to $700 million this financial year, due partly to the competition on the trans-Pacific route. Furthermore, the broker estimates pre-tax contributions from the route to fall from $350 million to just $100 million.

The route is of utmost importance to Qantas. UBS calculates that the route represents about 18 per cent of the Qantas brand's capacity but accounts for about 30 per cent of revenue. Furthermore, most fares on the route have been priced at a 20-30 per cent premium to Qantas's European services.

UBS believes the ratings agency Standard & Poor's could downgrade Qantas a further notch, to BBB- until, 2010-11.

S&P lowered its credit rating for the airline from BBB+ to to BBB in April, to leave it two notches above junk status. Qantas's investment-grade credit rating is crucial to finance its operations, including its fleet upgrade, at a lower cost than other carriers.

Shares in Qantas fell 10c to $1.91 yesterday, taking the stock's decline to 16 per cent over the past two weeks.

Safety first

National Australia Bank's $825 million purchase of Aviva Australia has been largely welcomed by analysts as a solid, safe but somewhat unspectacular first-time acquisition for the bank's new boss, Cameron Clyne.

To that end, bulking up in life insurance and wealth management in Australia carries neither the same risks nor the possible downsides of buying businesses abroad, where NAB hardly has an enviable record.

This is why banking research teams at Citi, Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS back the deal, although some consider NAB's earnings target for the integrated business could be a bit of a stretch.

Of equal interest is the likely fall-out from the deal for both NAB and its rival ANZ.

An RBS analyst, Jarrod Martin, believes investors' focus on the bank's performance will switch to its British banking subsidiaries and their position within the troubled British economy, as well as the group's exposure to collateralised debt obligations, which have already led to large write-downs. Because of their threat to the bank's earnings, this is why RBS has maintained its "sell" recommendation on NAB.

As for ANZ, the Aviva purchase has reduced even further its options to increase its position in wealth management domestically. Unlike the other big four banks, it does not have a wholly owned "big beast" player in the market such as Commonwealth's Colonial or Westpac's BT.

A Citi analyst, Craig Williams, has concluded that this only highlights the need for ANZ to pull off its Asian expansion plans the one area where the bank has sought to get ahead of its rivals.

Waiting to take wing

AirAsia X's ambitions of flying between Sydney and Kuala Lumpur are resting on approval from the Malaysian Government.

The Malaysian budget airline has long harboured hopes of making Sydney its fourth destination in Australia.

It already operates daily services to Kuala Lumpur from Melbourne and Perth and four a week from the Gold Coast. The airline's chief executive, Azran Osman-Rani, said the carrier already had Australian approval to fly the Sydney-Kuala Lumpur route but was awaiting approval from Malaysian authorities.

"It's something we want to do. We have yet to be able to get Malaysian Government approval to be able to do so," he told Xchange.

The central concern for authorities will be AirAsia X flying on the same route as the government-owned Malaysia Airlines. AirAsia X sought approval last year in Malaysia but Mr Osman-Rani said he could not say when a decision was likely.

But he dismissed outright industry chatter that the no-frills carrier might enter the Australian domestic market.

This should not be too much of a surprise because Richard Branson, the largest shareholder in Virgin Blue, has a 20 per cent stake in AirAsia X.

Lesson for Lend Lease

An investigation into Lend Lease's billing practices in the US has cost it a $US72 million ($90 million) contract to build a New York high school.

The property group is understood to have lost the project in Brooklyn for failing to reveal that it was the focus of the criminal inquiry.

If the case is lost, Lend Lease's project arm, Bovis, is likely to lose any hope of winning any more US Government development projects.

This month it was revealed that a former Bovis vice-president was under investigation by the US Federal Attorney for allegedly over-billing on a number of projects, including the September 11 memorial site.

Lend Lease shares slumped 21c to $6.96 yesterday. A final dividend of 34c will be paid on Friday.

Virgin Blue: May Domestic Passengers Up 0.4% On Year
28 June 2009

SYDNEY (Dow Jones)--Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd. (VBA.AU) Monday said domestic passenger numbers on its aircraft increased 0.4% in May on-year.

Traffic, measured by revenue passenger kilometers, increased 2.6%, and capacity, measured by available seat kilometers, fell 3.8%.

Revenue load factor rose 4.8 points and international passenger numbers increased 52.4%.

For the 11 months to May 31, Virgin Blue said its revenue load factor increased by 0.1 of a point to 81.4%, with domestic passenger numbers up 5.1%.

Air NZ May Sue Qantas Over Strike By Engineers
June 29, 2009 13:20 PM

MELBOURNE, June 29 (Bernama) -- Air New Zealand is threatening to sue Qantas to recover millions of dollars in costs incurred last year when engineers belonging to the latter, went on wild-cat strikes, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

The 10-week stand-off between Qantas and its licenced aircraft engineers ended last July but its impact was felt for months afterwards because of the backlog of work it created, the newspaper said.

The industrial dispute caused many Qantas flight cancellations and scheduling problems over several months.

Air New Zealand, one of Qantas' biggest customers, had to relocate some engineers to Australia for more than eight months to work on its aircraft, because of the dispute.

Air New Zealand's Australian general manager, John Harrison, told the newspaper the airline would make a final decision on whether to take legal action against Qantas within the next week.

Although Air New Zealand was exempt from paying some of the charges under its engineering contract with Qantas, it did not cover the total cost of relocating engineers, which included paying allowances and accommodating them here.

The Herald understands the costs involved millions of dollars.

-- BERNAMA

- http://bernama.com.my/bernama/v5/newsbusiness.php?id=421497

Air NZ Drops Qantas For Engineering Work In Sydney, Melbourne
28 June 2009

WELLINGTON (Dow Jones)--Air New Zealand Ltd. (AIR.NZ) said Monday was replacing Qantas Airways Ltd. (QAN.AU) for engineering work in Sydney and Melbourne following disruptive wildcat strikes last year.

Air New Zealand's general manager for Australia, John Harrison, told Dow Jones Newswires that the New Zealand carrier was 'transitioning' its line maintenance contract in Sydney to Cathay Pacific. (0293.HK) and in Melbourne it was contracting John Holland Group Pty Ltd., a unit of Leighton Holdings Ltd. (LEI.AU).

He said the company was also seeking to recover costs incurred when the Australian carrier's engineers held strikes last year, but he downplayed an earlier media report that it was threatening to sue Qantas, saying that while legal options, as always, remained open, the talks were 'amicable'.

Another Air New Zealand executive said the suggestion in the Sydney Morning Herald report that cost recovery would be in the millions of dollars was 'over the top.'

Qantas struggles but its Jetstar shines
1 July 2009
The Age

QANTAS budget offshoot Jetstar continues to provide a silver lining for its troubled parent on international routes, according to monthly traffic and capacity statistics for May.

Qantas carried 527,000 passengers on international routes for the month, 14.5 per cent lower than last year and 10.4 per cent down for the year to date.

But Jetstar passenger numbers for May were up 51 per cent on last year at 204,000, and up 30.7 per cent for the year to date on its international routes.

The only blot on Jetstar's expanding copybook appears to be its new domestic service in New Zealand.

Since launching the service on June 10, it has suffered many calamities, from delayed flights to cancellations because it does not have the right navigational aids to ride Queenstown's bad weather. It has refused to board passengers because they did not know they had to book in at least 30 minutes before departure and has suffered ground handling mishaps.

Last weekend it stranded New Zealand Prime Minister John Key in Queenstown after he opened the winter festival. He had to be flown home by the national carrier Air New Zealand, which flies any stranded Jetstar passenger home for NZ$50 ($A40).

Jetstar's arrival in New Zealand has created a fare bloodbath. Many passengers have vented their spleen about Jetstar on blog sites and media outlets - some calling the carrier "the great roo screw".

Virgin Blue budget offshoot Pacific Blue has also weighed in with predatory pricing and route changes. But Jetstar chief executive Bruce Buchanan has said repeatedly the carrier is in New Zealand for the long haul after Qantas pulled the plug on domestic operations last month.

The May statistics show QantasLink passenger numbers were down 0.1 per cent to 342,000 for the month and down 2.1 per cent for the year to May, while Qantas domestic numbers for May were down 4.7 per cent to 1.3 million.

Across the fleet, passenger numbers were down in May by 2.8 per cent compared with the previous year. Yields (excluding foreign exchange) took a 4.7 per cent hit on domestic routes and a 2.6 per cent hit on international routes compared with May last year.

Fare war two new carriers crowd out the skies
3 July 2009
The Sydney Morning Herald

A boon for customers is turning into a bloodbath for airlines, reports Matt O'Sullivan.

THEY have been two of Qantas's most profitable routes but the combination of slumping demand, the cheapest fares in decades, and the arrival of two new carriers today have created a discount war on the Sydney-Melbourne and Australia-US routes.

The fight for survival is symptomatic of a crisis gripping the global industry that threatens to bankrupt airlines and end the days of cheap fares. A peak international airline body recently forecast an almost doubling in industry losses to $US9 billion ($11.2 billion) this year. In short, passengers' short-term gain is airlines' long-term pain.

Today, Tiger Airways aircraft will depart Sydney Airport's domestic T2 terminal for the first time bound for Melbourne, ending the cosy duopoly between Qantas and Virgin Blue on the so-called "golden run" since the collapse of Ansett in 2001.

It will be the same story at the international terminal where Delta Air Lines launches daily services to Los Angeles taking the number of carriers on the route to four, including Qantas, United Airlines and Virgin's long-haul carrier, V Australia.

At the same time airlines worldwide are slashing fares to entice people to fly. On the Australia-US route, prices have more than halved in a year. That is great news for consumers but it means airlines are fast approaching a day when they will be unable to sustain the losses.

Apart from shedding flights and staff, it leaves airline executives desperate to form relationships with other carriers such as via code-share or revenue-sharing agreements to ease the burden.

At first blush, the arrival of Delta and Tiger could indicate optimism but industry officials believe it is more likely a desperate play to find alternative routes on which to run under-used aircraft.

"Whenever there are two US carriers on the trans-Pacific it is a bloodbath. We sustained non-stop losses for 15 years," a former Qantas executive said. "The whole tragedy is that people always forget about the past. The route is really a summary of the way the Australian economy has gone it was rocketing along for 15 years and then hit a wall."

The trans-Pacific route generated about 30 per cent of Qantas's pre-tax earnings last year. But with V Australia and Delta now competing, Qantas's market share will fall from 70 per cent to just over 50 per cent.

Qantas's international operations have been losing money for months and are expected to be largely responsible for the airline posting a second-half loss. In May, Qantas's international yields slumped almost 25 per cent on the same month last year. Likewise, V Australia will pull Virgin firmly into the red this year.

UBS analysts believe one of the four trans-Pacific carriers might not last the distance, indicating United or V Australia.

But United's Australasian general manager, Alison Espley, said it was committed to the route because "it's such a jewel that we intend to keep it".

"Someone may not last the distance, but we will. I think someone is going to have to look very seriously at [pulling off the route]," she said. She estimates capacity will rise by more than 35 per cent with the arrival of Delta, V Australia flying from three destinations to Los Angeles and Qantas using its A380 double-decker on the route. Fares have already fallen to about $900 return, less than half what they were a year ago.

V Australia and Delta, which will fly direct, hope to attract the 30 per cent of passengers who have been flying on carriers that make stopovers.

But that may not be enough. Passenger traffic to the US is unlikely to rise significantly in the next six to 12 months. And Macquarie Equities analysts have said that a lack of demand is likely to force carriers into discounting for longer.

Qantas and Virgin have been fortunate to have a domestic market to fall back on. So Tiger's attempt to break their duopoly on which 19,000 passengers fly each day between Sydney and Melbourne is a challenge to the incumbents.

"Tiger will want to increase the overall pie but it will certainly be a struggle for all of them," said the executive director of the Board of Airline Representatives, Warren Bennett.

Like any new entrant, Tiger claims it can increase the market by enticing people who do not usually fly with bargain fares. The arrival of the Ryanair wannabe of South-East Asia will add 24 weekly flights, increasing capacity by about 5 per cent.

"We have got ourselves into the false belief that there is space in Australia for only two airlines," said Tiger Australia's managing director, Shelley Roberts. "We are about to grow the market on the third busiest route in the world."

But Qantas and Virgin will staunchly defend their patch. As an airline executive put it: "In Australia the bigger airlines all want Tiger gone."

Qantas fined in Canada air cargo price-fix scheme
7 July 2009

VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - Australia's Qantas Airways Ltd has pleaded guilty to participating in a price-fixing conspiracy on air cargo exported on certain routes from Canada between May 2002 and February 2006, Canada's Competition Bureau said Tuesday.

Qantas, which is the fourth carrier to be convicted in the bureau's conspiracy investigation, admitted that during this period its freight division fixed surcharges on some cargo that was trucked from Canada to the United States for onward shipment to Australia and other destinations.

The bureau fined Qantas C$155,000 ($133,620) for its part in the scheme, which it continues to investigate.

Last month the bureau, an arms-length government agency, fined Air France-KLM, Europe's biggest airline, and a subsidiary, Martinair, a combined C$10 million for communicating with competitors about the amount and timing of fuel surcharges on air cargo exported from Canada.

($1=$1.16 Canadian)

Airlines buckle up for Pacific flights pact
10 July 2009
The Sydney Morning Herald

VIRGIN BLUE and the US carrier Delta Air Lines face big hurdles in persuading competition regulators to allow them to form a joint venture on the Australia-US route.

In a tacit admission that the trans-Pacific is proving an enormous challenge, Virgin and Delta, the world's largest airline, have unveiled plans to form a revenue-sharing agreement under which a steering committee would manage the airlines' aircraft on the route.

The deal would allow Delta and Virgin's long-haul carrier, V Australia, to schedule flights throughout the day rather than have their aircraft departing at the same time. There would be codesharing and extended frequent flyer program benefits.

But industry insiders believe the deal's potential to lessen competition works against its approval.

The US Department of Justice is taking a tougher stance on such deals. It recently blocked Continental's entry to the

Star Alliance. The Australian regulator also stopped a merger of Qantas and Air New Zealand's trans-Tasman operations

in 2003 despite strong competition on the Auckland-Australia route.

Qantas and United Airlines declined to say whether they would oppose the deal. Air New Zealand, which has one-stop flights between Australia and the US, was "considering whether to lodge an appeal".

The plans come less than a week after Delta began daily services between Sydney and Los Angeles. Once highly profitable for Qantas and United as the only direct carriers, the route has been a loss-maker for airlines since at least the beginning of the year.

Should Virgin and Delta overcome the regulatory hurdles, their combined operations will pose the biggest threat to United, which, although insisting it is committed to the route, has been singled out as the most likely to stop services.

Virgin's chief executive, Brett Godfrey, said the planned deal was a "huge risk mitigator" for the two airlines amid a severe downturn in travel.

"We have to see ourselves through what will be a very difficult six to 12 months," he said. "This is a bit of a hybrid of a merger. [But] we have no intention of any capacity reduction."

The deal would be similar to Qantas's joint services agreement with British Airways between London and Australia, which allows them to share costs.

Virgin and Delta do not expect a response from the competition regulators until at least the end of the year. Virgin has ended its interline agreement with United.

Investors interpreted the planned deal as a chance for Virgin to limit its losses on the trans-Pacific. Its shares rose 1.5c, to 30.5c, yesterday.

Virgin defers on call for funds
14 July 2009
The Sydney Morning Herald

VIRGIN BLUE has left open the door to a capital-raising after taking several hours yesterday to issue a carefully worded statement denying speculation of an imminent announcement.

The airline entered a trading halt early yesterday after the Herald reported that it was on the verge of announcing a raising of up to $400 million, only to emerge more than four hours later denying a potential rights issue was under way.

But Virgin's statement implied that it has been actively canvassing fund managers' appetite for an issue of new shares. "Given the prevailing macro-economic conditions, Virgin Blue ... assesses capital management initiatives as appropriate. However, the board has not approved any such transaction as has been reported," it said in a statement to the ASX.

It did not respond to questions from the Herald about why it had to request a trading halt in order to respond to a media report, and whether Virgin management had made any proposal to the board.

Speculation about Virgin tapping the market for cash to steer its way through a severe downturn in travel has been brewing for weeks.

Australian fund managers say they would be tempted to buy into Virgin only if it was able to secure a cornerstone investor to give them comfort about its longer-term future.

Private equity investors of the likes of TPG and Indigo Partners an investor in Tiger Airways are the only likely candidates given the strained financial positions of most airlines.

Virgin will also be mindful of not breaching a 49 per cent cap on foreign ownership. If the airline becomes majority foreign-owned, it will be unable to fly on its recently launched route between Australia and the US.

British entrepreneur Richard Branson, who has a 25.5 per cent stake in Virgin, would also have to invest more capital to avoid a dilution of his holding.

Despite Delta Air Lines and Virgin unveiling joint-venture plans for services between Australia and the US, analysts doubt the US carrier's willingness and ability to invest equity.

The Singaporean backers of Regional Express also have a 4 per cent stake in Virgin, but industry insiders are sceptical of their ability to raise the capital needed even if they wanted to increase their holdings.

Likewise, Air New Zealand has been raised as a possible cornerstone investor given that a tie-up could result in substantial cost savings, but it would hinge on the NZ Government's appetite.

Insiders also downplayed interest from Middle Eastern airlines despite Emirates forming a code share with the Australian carrier last month.

Shares in Virgin closed down 1.5c at 29c yesterday.

United to match any rival air price
22 July 2009
The Australian

THE low-fare bonanza across the Pacific is set to continue, with United Airlines vowing to keep protecting its patch by matching any discounts offered by competitors V Australia, Qantas and Delta Airlines.

United vice-president Pacific James Mueller yesterday said he expected the fare wars to continue into the foreseeable future and that United would not back down from challenging any competitor's initiatives.

``United is determined and committed to matching the initiatives of other carriers and we'll compete aggressively on price if that's what's required for us to protect our business here,'' Mr Mueller said in Sydney.

``In terms of the question of how it's going to play out in the future, and are these fares sustainable, my view on that is ultimately it's supply and demand that are going to determine what the prevailing market prices are.

``Certainly, as long as we see this level of capacity, relative to the fundamental market demand, there's going to be a lot of pressure on prices.''

Consumers have in recent months been the big winners from the doubling of capacity on routes between Australia and the US mainland, with return economy fares falling to less than $1000 and cuts in premium tickets of up to 40 per cent.

V Australia this week offered one-way economy fares to Los Angeles for $579, an estimated 70 per cent discount on usual one-way fares.

But the fare wars have taken their toll on profitability, with Qantas and V Australia admitting they are losing money on flights to the US.

Mr Mueller would not say whether United was losing money on the route, but noted that Australia was one of the places where the airline's business had held up relatively well, particularly compared with other parts of its network.

He said United's investment in upgrading its premium cabins had seen it maintain its Australian market share in the face of increased competition.

``I look at our services to Australia as sort of our southern cornerstone of our overall Pacific product offering,'' he said.

``We hear often from our global customers how important these services are, and fully intend to keep operating here indefinitely.''

In other aviation news yesterday, Jetstar announced it would double its daily services between Sydney and Darwin as it continued to build up its Top End hub.

And Regional Express said subsidiary Pel-Air Aviation had been selected as conditional preferred tenderer for a 10-year contract to provide fixed-wing patient transport in Victoria from mid-2011.

Swine flu drags Sydney Airport numbers down
21 July 2009
The Sydney Morning Herald

SYDNEY AIRPORT suffered a halving in Japanese passengers last month due in part to fears about swine flu, contributing to a 4 per cent decline in overall traffic.

However, the latest monthly figures for Macquarie Airports' flagship asset show a moderation in the decline in passenger traffic after several months of more severe falls.

MAp's European airports also recorded less severe declines. Copenhagen's traffic fell almost 9 per cent in June, Brussels 9 per cent and Bristol 12 per cent.

Investors took a positive view of the latest traffic statistics. MAp securities rose almost 5 per cent, or 11c, to $2.36 yesterday, in its fifth consecutive trading day of gains.

The slump in Japanese travellers at Sydney Airport accelerated last month due to fears about swine flu. Koreans also dropped by a quarter. Qantas's low-cost subsidiary, Jetstar, cut a third of flights between Japan and Australia in June and this month due to cancellations of trips.

Helping offset the decline, American traveller figures rose 14 per cent as fares between Los Angeles and Sydney declined substantially due to competition between Qantas, United Airlines and Virgin Blue's long-haul carrier, V Australia. American visitors are likely to increase further this month following the US airline Delta beginning flights to Sydney.

Yesterday V Australia launched a $579 one-way fare across the Pacific, which it boasted was 70 per cent lower than the best one-way tickets offered by its competitors.

Sydney Airport also stands to benefit from the Singapore Airlines-backed Tiger Airways increasing flights to Melbourne from four a day to as many as nine.

However, Macquarie Equities analysts said Tiger's increase in share of the Melbourne-Sydney route to 10 per cent was likely to stifle any near-term recovery in airlines' yields. They said it may also prompt Jetstar to put on more flights to Melbourne's Tullamarine Airport.

Tourism Australia has also warned that the worst of the downturn in international visitors is now likely in the second half of this year. A fall in visitors in the first three months was less severe than expected because of discounting in air fares.

Melbourne Airport has also reported steady traffic for the latest quarter at 5.9 million passengers. International passengers rose 6 per cent but domestic numbers fell 1 per cent.

More cheap flights
22 July 2009
Daily Telegraph

QATAR Airways will begin flying from Australia later this year, with launch fares to the Middle East and Europe on sale for under $1700 return.

Three weekly services will start from Melbourne on December 6, with daily flights from April 2010. Flights to Sydney are expected to begin next April.

The airline will fly to Europe, the UK, Africa and India via Doha -- the capital of Qatar, near the United Arab Emirates. The city is expected to follow Dubai and Abu Dhabi and become a popular stopover destination for Australian travellers.

Runway breaches top airport safety log
20 July 2009
The West Australian

There were more than 80 reportable safety incidents at Jandakot Airport last year, an average of one every 4½ days.

The airport’s safety log from 2008, obtained by The West Australian in a freedom of information request from Federal air traffic control agency Airservices Australia, reveals a range of breaches.

These include planes and helicopters taking off without clearances, communication breakdowns between controllers and pilots, and crash-landings.

In August, a student pilot crashed into a suburban street in Wattleup, almost 10km south-west of the airport.

In another incident, two dogs ran wild around the runway in a dangerous breach of perimeter security.

The log reveals runway incursions were the most common reportable incident with 22 reports.

Aircraft violated controlled airspace nine times and emergencies were declared 12 times.

Two incidents, including the Wattleup crash, were classified as aircraft accidents.

The log reveals several instances of pilots being unfamiliar with clearance procedures and rules at Jandakot and others either ignored or misunderstood directions from controllers or flew higher or lower than their clearance.

The Civil Aviation Safety Authority has imposed tighter rules on Australia’s six general aviation airports, of which Jandakot is one, from tomorrow.

The new rules aim to improve safety at the busy airports, which are typically used by flight schools, charter operators, helicopters and private planes.

The new rules limit the number of aircraft in a landing and takeoff “circuit” and require all aircraft to be cleared to enter, cross or taxi on any runway.

At least one air traffic controller must be on duty for all daylight hours within 12 months.

Jandakot is Australia’s busiest airfield with more than 350,000 flights last year, and an Airservices Australia spokesman said the number of safety incidents was consistent with other Australian general aviation airports.

The agency had rigorous safety management and all incidents of any type were reported, from minor to procedural to those of a “more serious nature”.

“Because the system captures all incidents, the number of (reports) is not in itself an indicator of the level of safety or risk at an aerodrome,” a spokesman said.

Jandakot Airport Holdings managing director John Fraser said the company, which has a 49-year lease on the airport, had no control over flight movements, which were Airservices Australia’s responsibility.

“It has to be kept in mind that 82 incidents out of 380,000 or so aeroplane movements, with no deaths or significant injuries, is a fairly insignificant number,” Mr Fraser said.

“You would probably see far worse on the motorways.”

Australian Transport and Safety Bureau spokesman Julian Walsh said there had been “no obvious trends of any sort” at Jandakot Airport.

Small airports lose service share
24 July 2009
The Australian

THE number of regional airports served by passenger services continues to dwindle at a rate of about ten a year, despite an overall increase in passenger movements.

A report by the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics shows that the number of regional airports serviced by regular public transport (RPT) fell from 170 in 2005 to 138 last year.

This was down from 268 in 1985 and was despite the fact that passenger movements at regional airports continued to rise, from 17.5 million in 2005 to 22.3 million last year. This was accompanied by a rise in the number of passengers on regional air routes, from 16 million in 2005 to 20.1 million.

The fall in the number of airports has prompted renewed calls by the Regional Aviation Association of Australia for more federal government attention to aviation infrastructure.

The bureau's analysis found that just under half of all regional airports had experienced growth and gained additional RPT seats.

It said most of the airports that lost passenger services were in remote areas where there was an insufficient population base to support profitable services.

The number of airlines also dropped over the survey period, from 34 to 27 -- although more have since left the industry -- and the bureau noted about 70 percent of regional airports were served by single operators. It found the average annual passenger growth rate of 9.6 per cent was due mainly to an 8.3 per cent increase on routes between regional airports and major cities to 18.5 million.

The number of passengers travelling between regional areas grew at 2.1 per cent, from 1.5 million to 1.6 million.

Regional Aviation Association of Australia chief executive Paul Tyrrell said the association was concerned about the decline in the number of regional ports.

``I understand there are economic reasons,'' he said. ``But it's really starting to limit the number of towns that have RPT services.''

Mr Tyrrell said one of the problems was that smaller Navajo and Chieftain aircraft, which were no longer in production, had been the backbone of thinner regional routes and new, replacement aircraft were significantly more expensive and required more traffic to justify the capital expenditure.

There was also only a certain number of destinations that were viable for regional airlines with bigger aircraft such as Saabs and Metros.

Mr Tyrrell said the danger was that some medium-size towns that had traditionally relied on passengers services might start missing out.

He called on the federal government to pay more attention to regional air routes as part of the national transport infrastructure.

``I'd love to see air routes considered the same as land and sea routes,'' he said.

Cheap fares, mines boost Perth Airport
24 July 2009
The West Australian

More low-cost airlines, airfare wars and the resource industry have led to a surge in passengers through Perth Airport.

The 6.1 per cent rise in passengers for the year to June 30 — the highest growth of any Australian capital city airport — is in stark contrast to the global slump in international passenger traffic, with big falls up to 40 per cent.

More than 9.7 million passengers travelled through Perth Airport in the year to June 30, an increase of 555,815 travellers over the previous financial year.

International passenger growth was 4.2 per cent while domestic growth jumped 6.7 per cent.

Perth Airport chief executive officer Brad Geatches conceded that airlines had to slash fares to attract passengers.

“While the number of passengers increased during the year, the commercial aviation market became far more challenging for our airline partners and many found it necessary to discount airfares to support demand,” Mr Geatches said.

Strongest growth was recorded in the intrastate market, with a 15 per cent rise for the year, mainly because of fly-in, fly-out workers in the resource sector. “We have also benefited from new intrastate and interstate services by Virgin Blue, Tiger Airways and Jetstar as well as new services from Skywest,” Mr Geatches said.

New international services by Jetstar, Pacific Blue and AirAsia X to Bali, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur have proved very popular with WA holidaymakers.

Biggest outbound growth was Bali with a 42 per cent surge in passengers, while inbound it was passengers from Kuala Lumpur, up 30 per cent.

Mr Geatches said Perth Airport’s redevelopment was on track with $70 million invested in aviation infrastructure last year and $190 million planned for this year. International Air Transport Association figures for May show an overall slump in passengers of 9.3 per cent, with freight demand down 17.4 per cent.

IATA director-general and chief executive officer Giovanni Bisignani said the industry “may have hit the bottom, but we are a long way from recovery”.

Qantas flight from S'pore struck by lightning

Thu, Jul 23, 2009
AsiaOne


A Qantas Airbus A330-300 operating the QF72 flight from Singapore to Perth was struck by lighting just minutes after takeoff, Australian paper WA Today reported.

A spokesman for the airline was reported to have said that the incident did not present any safety issue to the plane or its passengers.

Passenger Neville Fitzpartick, who was returning to Australia from a two-week trip to Russia told news website PerthNow that he saw "an orange stripe" run along the wing and side of the plane as lightning hit the aircraft during a tropical storm.

PerthNow reported Mr Fitzpatrick saying that the plane was not affected by the strike, though the captain did inform passengers that the aircraft had been struck by lightning.

The plane had left Singapore in "heay rain and heavy cloud" according to Mr Fitzpatrick's account on PerthNow.

The passenger, who was sitting in first class with his wife said that the lightning struck "a minute or so" after the plane had taken off.

The flight was otherwise uneventful.

According to WA Today, Qantas said that the aircraft will be inspected by engineers after landing, and that "it is too soon to say if any maintenance will be required."

The return flight from Perth to Singapore was also delayed by two and a half hours for checks. Passengers on board the flight will be presented with refreshment vouchers, WA Today reported.

This is the second time in a month that a Qantas plane was struck by lightning. A July 10 flight from Perth to Melbourne was cancelled after the aircraft, travelling from Sydney to Perth, was hit by lightning just before landing.

http://travel.asiaone.com/Travel/News/Story/A1Story20090723-156641.html

New One-Way Fares Between LA - Australia from Just $359* - Coming Home is Optional! V Australia Makes it Flexible and Affordable

SYDNEY, July 21 /PRNewswire/ -- V Australia continues to shake up the market with the introduction of super cheap one-way tickets between Los Angeles - Sydney and Brisbane offering more flexibility for travelers, which are on sale now.

While one-way fares are not new to the arena, V Australia is the first airline to offer one-way fares across ALL of its fare brackets, including its lowest lead-in fares, offering one-way tickets from just $359*, approximately 76% lower than the lowest one-way fare currently offered by competitor airlines^.

Virgin Blue Group Chief Executive, Brett Godfrey, said the initiative was another example of V Australia remaining open and adaptable to new ideas and championing change for consumers.

"The biggest joke in the industry was that for the cheapest and least-restrictive one-way fare travelers had to purchase a return fare and throw away the return portion. This was obviously good for the airlines, but not so for travelers and we're happy to be the first trans-Pacific airline to offer affordable one-way fares while removing the archaic 'advanced purchase conditions' and minimum stay requirements often associated with one-way tickets."

Currently trans-Pacific one-way fares on other carriers are only available in the higher fare brackets.

Brett Godfrey continued, "Effectively travelers get stung twice for even considering a one-way fare, which is usually exquisitely expensive coupled with extensive conditions.

"With V Australia's new 'freedom fare' we've certainly made it easier and much more affordable for those who want flexibility for their return flight, or only need to travel in one direction."

Availability of affordable one-way fares is great news for students, backpackers, expats and those on working holidays who may not necessarily have a firm return date.

If travelers are in doubt about their travel plans, buying a one-way fare will also negate any penalty fees that usually apply to the lower fare brackets if changes are made to a return flight after the booking is confirmed.

One-way fares from America are only available for purchase online at www.vaustralia.com with Guests able to purchase 'through fares' from Los Angeles to Sydney or Brisbane and onwards throughout Australia on Virgin Blue's extensive flight network.

One-way fares from Australia to America are only available for purchase online at www.vaustralia.com.au and do not include through fares via Los Angeles to other US destinations as operated by V Australia's code-share partners.

In addition to the one-way fare, for international visitors traveling on a budget around Australia and between Australia and New Zealand, the easiest and most flexible way to fly is with a Virgin Blue Airpass only available online at www.virginblueairpass.com. The Virgin Blue Airpass offers travelers set airfares from as low as AUD$69 per flight across a variety of Virgin Blue 'Fly Zones' (Quick Fly, Metro Fly, Coastal Fly, Cross Country). Travelers can 'mix and match' a minimum of three and a maximum of eight flights from any of the four fly zones, and up to nine Guests can travel together on the one Airpass.

^ Fares sourced on 20 July 2009 from www.qantas.com.au and http://travel.united.com. For a one-way LA-SYD flight with Qantas for travel on 20 August 2009 the lowest one-way fare on sale was for $1491. For a one-way LA-SYD flight with United for travel on 20 August 2009 the lowest one-way fare on sale was for $1490.

* There are no maximum or minimum stay requirements as part of the fare however length of stay in Australia is subject to applicable visa requirement. Fares are economy one way fares, and exclude government-imposed taxes, fees and the 9/11 Security Fee (collectively between $USD100 to $USD250 depending on itinerary). Prices are in US dollars and include applicable fuel surcharges. On sale from midnight (PDT) July 20, 2009 until midnight (PDT) August 4, 2009 (unless sold out earlier) for travel from July 20, 2009 to November 30, 2009. Fares are current as at July 17, 2009, are subject to availability and may vary until ticketed. Seats are limited and may not be available at peak times or on all flights. Available only for instant purchase online and fares are non-refundable and cannot be cancelled for credit to use at a later date. No stopovers are permitted. Connecting flights between Sydney and other Australian domestic ports are operated by Virgin Blue Airlines. Any Australian domestic travel can be booked through Virgin Blue. Tickets purchased through the Guest Contact Centre cost $15(USD) more.


For further information:
Amanda Bolger - Manager Public and Media Relations Virgin Blue Group
+61 7 3295 3115
amanda.bolger@virginblue.com.au


SOURCE V Australia

Sydney Airport earnings up 2pct helped by new airline business

SYDNEY, July 24 AAP - Sydney Airport, which is 49 per cent owned by Macquarie Airports (MAp), has reported a two per cent lift in first half earnings, despite a difficult market for the travel sector.

The airport, Australia's busiest, benefited from new airline business during the period, with France's Air Austral and Virgin Blue's V Australia beginning operations and Delta Air Lines of the US entering the trans-Pacific route.

"Delta's entrance into the Australian market shows again that Sydney Airport is an attractive destination for international carriers," chief executive Russell Balding said on Friday.

The airport's earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) excluding small recurring expenses was $325.8 million for the half year ended June 30, up from $319.5 million in the previous first half.

Revenue rose 1.8 per cent to $404.5 million in the first half, despite a 3.5 per cent fall in passenger traffic.

Its operating expenses fell by 3.5 per cent reflecting the benefit of a recent corporate restructure and cost management.

"In the current environment, expenditure control remains critical," MAp chief executive Kerrie Mather said in a statement on Friday.

Airport may lose Big Mac -- Bank changing course
24 July 2009
Daily Telegraph

MACQUARIE Group may be about to sever its long and often controversial link with Sydney Airport.

According to leading analysts, the group is preparing to announce a major shift in its business model that could result in Macquarie Airports -- which owns 74 per cent of Sydney Airport -- either being privatised and brought back into the Macquarie mother ship, or being cut loose to be run as an independent entity.

Trading in shares of Macquarie Group and Macquarie Airports were halted yesterday, with both telling the Australian Stock Exchange they would make a ``significant announcement regarding strategic options within the next two business days.''

One institutional infrastructure analyst said the fact MacGroup entered a trading halt suggested the announcement was bigger than a mere asset sale by its listed satellite fund Macquarie Airport.

``It does suggest it will be a bigger announcement, perhaps a takeover by a third party or by Macquarie Group itself,'' the analyst said. ``For the bank to do it, you have to ask yourself whether they have the capital to make such a large acquisition, and I would suggest probably not.''

Other analysts suggested Macquarie Airports would sell its stakes in Copenhagen and Brussels airports.

But the common thought seemed to suggest Macquarie Group would cut its poorly-performing airports fund afloat by either selling its 21 per cent stake in MAp to MAp shareholders, or to an Australian-based third party.

Adding weight to that theory, analysts told The Daily Telegraph yesterday that MacGroup did not have the balance sheet at present to take MAp back into the fold.

``I really doubt that Macquarie can privatise it internally and take it onto its balance sheet. They just don't have the capacity,'' Merrill Lynch infrastructure analyst Matthew Spence said. ``It could be an asset sale, or the sale of the whole business.''

Before the trading halt, MAp shares surged 10.46 per cent to $2.64, as news began to trickle out to traders.

Talk was that MacGroup would rejig its complex business model built around separately listing its various portfolios, such as Macquarie Airports, Macquarie Infrastructure Group and Macquarie Leisure Trust.

Since the global financial crisis the model, made infamous by the now defunct Babcock & Brown, has been found wanting.

Earlier this month MacGroup sold its stake in Macquarie Communications Infrastructure Group to the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board for $250 million and has also proposed selling its stake in Macquarie Leisure Trust Group and US tollroad assets in the troubled Macquarie Infrastructure Group.

Airline dogfight over lucrative Pacific route
25 July 2009
Agence France-Presse

Major airlines are fighting the biggest war in 15 years over the lucrative Pacific route linking Australia and the United States, experts say.

Carriers are slashing prices and offering special deals after US giant Delta and Virgin's V-Australia entered the market this year -- just as the downturn grounds swathes of passengers.

"It's not a pretty place right now," said Peter Harbison, of the Centre for Asia-Pacific Aviation research group.

Analysts are tipping at least one airline to pull out within months after the new players muscled in on a route long dominated by Australia's Qantas and US carrier United Airlines.

Fares are touching all-time lows, less than half of those paid a year ago, on a route that has not been so competitive since Continental and Northwest pulled out in the early 1990s.

"I think (fares are) probably about as low as they've ever been. It's not just the competition and the arrival on the route of V-Australia and Delta," said Tom Ballantyne, chief correspondent for Orient Aviation magazine.

"The current recession is hitting the airline industry very hard, particularly the high-yielding business-class traffic."

The entry of Delta, the world's biggest airline, this month sparked a furious round of discounting on what is one of the globe's most profitable routes.

Some fares have dropped to just 530 US dollars return and carriers are offering extra incentives, such as V-Australia's free limo pick-up for business passengers.

Australian flag-carrier Qantas is selling business-class seats two-for-one and has taken the "unprecedented" step of letting children fly free.

"This is the first sale of its kind for many, many years," a Qantas spokeswoman said.

Analysts are convinced the blood-letting will kill off one player, possibly as early as October, with V-Australia tipped as the most likely casualty.

"It's unlikely that all of the carriers will continue to serve on the route. There's simply too many seats on the route and you can't fill them," Ballantyne said.

"Delta is a pretty big airline, they're not going to start and then leave. But V-Australia may decide this is not worth the effort."

However, V's operator Virgin Blue has announced a joint venture with Delta which is currently awaiting regulator approval.

America's United has underlined its commitment to a route it has served for 24 years, while a pull-out by Qantas, which accounts for half the market, is unthinkable.

"We've invested heavily in that route and we've no plans to do otherwise," the Qantas spokeswoman said.

Until one airline blinks, passengers will be able to enjoy cheap seats on the 14-hour journey to and from Los Angeles.

"It's fantastic for consumers -- but very bad for airlines," Ballantyne said.

Turbulent ride for Virgin Blue's CEO
28 July 2009
Daily Telegraph

VIRGIN Blue chief executive Brett Godfrey yesteday sought to deflect concern about the troubled state of the airline's finances by revealing both his plan to retire and a board decision to sell $231 million worth of new shares in the carrier.

Mr Godfrey, who has held the control column since 2001, said he would go at the end of next year because he wanted to talk to his family about things other than aeroplanes.

Friends said Mr Godfrey was tired and dispirited after a worrying year in which Virgin's shares plunged, slashing tens of millions from his fortune (he has a 2 per cent stake) and that of his major shareholder, Sir Richard Branson, because of the slump in high-yield business travel.

Virgin shares are now worth $515.4 million far less than its fleet of Boeing 737 and 777 jets and the airline will post its first full-year loss next month and not pay a dividend.

Stock was in a trading halt yesterday but last traded at 29c. Mr Godfrey told reporters shareholders could expect to see between $160-$165 million worth of red ink in the final accounts down from last year's after-tax profit of $95 million.

Announcing the share sale, Mr Godfrey rejected recent reports that Virgin had to raise cash to fund losses and needed a cornerstone investor.

``Virgin Blue businesses are trading at levels which are cash flow positive in 2009 and will be more so in 2010 excluding today's capital raising,'' he said.

Mt Godfrey said the airline did not need a cornerstone investor because it already had one, noting Sir Richard Branson's privately owned Virgin Group of companies was fully supportive and would take part in the offer. Yesterday's announcement was not unexpected and came after traders learned several weeks ago that the airline's debt-to-equity level had grown to 88 per cent.

The capital raising, underwritten by Credit Suisse and J. P. Morgan, comprises a $2 1million institutional placement and a 1-for-1 non-renounceable pro-rata entitlement offer to raise $210.4 million.

The plan requires Sir Richard Branson, the biggest shareholder, to stump up as much as $79.9 million to preserve his 25 per cent interest. He said in a statement that his belief in Virgin Blue was underlined by his group's ongoing support.

Virgin Blue soars into capital raising
30 July 2009
The Australian

VIRGIN Blue's $231 million capital raising is more than halfway home, after the institutional components were both oversubscribed.

The airline announced yesterday it had completed the $112.1m institutional component of its one-for-one non-renounceable entitlement offer as well as a $21m institutional placement, both at 20c a share.

Virgin Blue shares, which had been suspended since Monday, resumed trading yesterday and closed marginally higher at 30c, up 0.5c.

The airline said the institutional components were both ``well oversubscribed'', with strong demand from new and existing local and international investors.

It said about 96 per cent of shares were taken up by existing investors.

``We're delighted by the strong support we have received for the offering by shareholders, as well as a new institutional investors,'' chief executive Brett Godfrey said in a statement to the Australian stock exchange.

Still to come is the retail entitlement offer, due to open tomorrow and close on August 28.

The fully underwritten offer aims to raise $98.3m through the issue of 491.5 million new shares.

Virgin has said it will use the capital raising to improve its liquidity and financial flexibility. Analysts say the raising, in conjunction with sale and leaseback of assets, will boost the airline's unencumbered cash to about $675m, or about 21 per cent of revenues.

Mr Godfrey announced this week that he would leave the company towards the end of the next year, fuelling a flurry of speculation about a possible replacement.

The airline's board, which is also currently looking for a new chief commercial officer to replace Stefan Pichler, is expected to look both internally and externally the new chief.

Possibilities bandied around so far have included former Qantas executives John Borghetti and Peter Gregg.

Virgin also revealed this week it was heading into fiscal 2010 expecting to break even after posting a 2008-09 group net loss after tax of $160m to $165m.

The 2008-09 unaudited loss includes a net profit after tax on domestic operations of up to $30m, offset by trading losses from fledgling international airline V Australia of $30m to $35m as it dealt with the combined impact of an economic slowdown and increased competition on the Pacific.

V Australia's start-up costs contributed another $60m to $65m to the result and the rest came from $90m to $95m in non-cash losses, relating to ineffective fuel and currency hedges.

Webjet flies high on back of downturn
7 August 2009
Daily Telegraph

ONLINE travel agent Webjet increased its annual profit by 15 per cent and ``would be disappointed'' if it didn't see another rise in the new year.

The company's net profit rose to $7.7 million for the 12 months to June 30, from $6.7 million in the prior corresponding period, excluding credit from the establishment of a deferred tax asset, the Melbourne-based company said in a statement yesterday.

Profit for 2007/08 was $9.4 million, when the deferred tax benefit of $2.5 million is included. Revenue rose 20 per cent to $30.1 million, while Webjet's total transaction value gained 17 per cent to $388 million.

Past comments ``in relation to the reduced demand, the likely reduction in the unit value of travel, the probability of consumers aggressively hunting bargains, and the probability of aggregation sites such as Webjet gaining market share, have proven to be accurate'', chief executive David Clarke said in the statement.

``This resulted in continuous price discounting by airlines across all segments of the market,'' he said .

``Available capacity operated by carriers both domestically within Australia and internationally from Australia has been rationalised and adjusted for the lower demand profile but overall capacity is still substantially

in excess of demand.

``Consequently, we do not expect to see a sustained improvement in market conditions, certainly in the six months to December 2009 and, arguably, not until well into calendar year 2010.''

For this reason, Webjet would increase its marketing budget to take advantage of lower advertising costs, particularly in regional areas.

The company also has frozen base salaries during 2009/10.

And Webjet will release new products to increase its market share.

``Relative to these macro-economic factors and marketing initiatives, we would be disappointed if 2009/10

does not result in another profit increase,'' Mr Clarke added.

Battle for open skies
15 August 2009
The Sydney Morning Herald

Clive Dorman reports on moves to lift restrictions on European air routes.

The Federal Government has signalled it is only months away from an "open slather" deal on air routes between Australia and Europe, despite pressure from some countries that still own their national carriers to stop liberalisation.

About 15 years after successive federal administrations began increasing Qantas's exposure to new foreign competition, the Federal Government signalled last week there would be no return to protectionism.

In a speech at the Asia Pacific Outlook Conference in Sydney earlier this month, the secretary of the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government, Mike Mrdak, said the Government would not use the recession as an excuse to put the brakes on reform.

"The current economic environment has not altered the Government's commitment to pursuing liberalisation," Mrdak said.

"One of the highest aviation priorities over the next 12 to 18 months will be the negotiation of a comprehensive air services agreement with the European Union. Such an agreement would replace Australia's existing bilateral agreements with 17 of the 28 EU member states. It holds out the promise of removing most, if not all, regulatory restrictions on Australian and European airlines operating between Australia and the EU."

The agreement with the EU would follow similar ground-breaking agreements with the US and New Zealand. Airlines can now decide on their own how many flights a week they can operate between Australia and the US. This has led to a collapse in prices. Fares that were as high as $2500 return a year ago are now less than $1000 because of new competition.

The agreement with New Zealand will be taken to a new level in the next few months, with the abolition of international status on trans-Tasman routes.

Airlines will be able to operate from domestic terminal to domestic terminal in both countries, which they say will save them up to $60 a seat a flight as they escape high international airport charges. The airlines have signalled that trans-Tasman fares could fall to as low as $130 one way.

Mrdak saw the same benefits in liberalising the air routes between Australia and Europe.

He said, however, there was still resistance from some governments. "Some of the countries in the region with which we have major aviation relationships do not favour open skies," he said.

He was speaking as the Malaysian Government was apparently giving in to pressure from government-owned Malaysia Airlines to ban the low-cost carrier AirAsia X from flying between Sydney and Kuala Lumpur.

Under the Malaysia Airlines monopoly on the route, fares have typically been as high as $1200 return. AirAsia X was offering fares last week on the Melbourne-Kuala Lumpur route from $99 one way.

Qantas Re-launch of the "I Still Call Australia Home" campaign

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Australia to relax air security measures
By Emma Chalmers From: The Courier-Mail December 16, 2009 12:54AM 26 comments
http://www.news.com.au/travel/australia-to-relax-air-security-measures/story-e6frfqh9-1225810775065


Airport security rules relaxed
Sharp objects to be allowed on board
Metal cutlery will be approved

AIR travellers will be allowed to eat with metal cutlery and take knitting needles and nail clippers on board from next year in the first major clawback of security since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the US.

Under major changes to be announced by the Rudd Government today, international travellers will no longer have duty free alcohol and perfume confiscated while in transit at domestic airports.

Transport Minister Anthony Albanese will today outline the softer regime as part of the Aviation White Paper, arguing it will reduce queuing times for security screening and represent a more commonsense approach to airport security.

"The Rudd Government's changes are about making sure that Australia's aviation security regime remains world-class, while minimising disruptions for travellers," Mr Albanese said.

The Courier-Mail can reveal new rules will come into force next year which will permit travellers to take on board "low-risk" items, including knitting needles, crochet hooks and nail clippers, for the first time since terror attacks forced dramatic changes to aircraft and airport security around the world.

Metal cutlery will also make an in-flight return and will also be permitted in airport cafes.

Restrictions will also be relaxed for international travellers in transit at Australian airports.

They will be allowed to keep their duty free alcohol and perfume on board during stops without having to rescreen the purchases or risk having them confiscated.

However, the Rudd Government will strengthen screening standards for airport security staff, with the introduction of annual certification requirements for screening officers for the first time.

The Aviation Security Identification card regime will also be beefed up with provisions for extra background checks on staff and stricter conditions for visitor management at airports.

Mr Albanese said the measures would better focus safety checks and reduce the delays for passengers at screening points.

"This means targeting our security regime to mitigate genuine risks and continuing to improve the travelling experience for passengers," he said.

The Courier-Mail last year revealed major problems at the Brisbane Airport. Passengers' belongings were stolen and a security checkpoint was left unmanned.

The White Paper will outline changes to strengthen security screening at regional airports and on smaller aircraft. Within four years, all passengers and checked baggage must be screened on smaller aircraft operating regular public transport services.

If there is an accident, airlines will have to increase liability insurance for domestic passengers from $500,000 to $750,000 a passenger.

Australia to relax air security measures
By Emma Chalmers From: The Courier-Mail December 16, 2009 12:54AM 26 comments
http://www.news.com.au/travel/australia-to-relax-air-security-measures/story-e6frfqh9-1225810775065


Airport security rules relaxed
Sharp objects to be allowed on board
Metal cutlery will be approved

AIR travellers will be allowed to eat with metal cutlery and take knitting needles and nail clippers on board from next year in the first major clawback of security since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the US.

Under major changes to be announced by the Rudd Government today, international travellers will no longer have duty free alcohol and perfume confiscated while in transit at domestic airports.

Transport Minister Anthony Albanese will today outline the softer regime as part of the Aviation White Paper, arguing it will reduce queuing times for security screening and represent a more commonsense approach to airport security.

"The Rudd Government's changes are about making sure that Australia's aviation security regime remains world-class, while minimising disruptions for travellers," Mr Albanese said.

The Courier-Mail can reveal new rules will come into force next year which will permit travellers to take on board "low-risk" items, including knitting needles, crochet hooks and nail clippers, for the first time since terror attacks forced dramatic changes to aircraft and airport security around the world.

Metal cutlery will also make an in-flight return and will also be permitted in airport cafes.

Restrictions will also be relaxed for international travellers in transit at Australian airports.

They will be allowed to keep their duty free alcohol and perfume on board during stops without having to rescreen the purchases or risk having them confiscated.

However, the Rudd Government will strengthen screening standards for airport security staff, with the introduction of annual certification requirements for screening officers for the first time.

The Aviation Security Identification card regime will also be beefed up with provisions for extra background checks on staff and stricter conditions for visitor management at airports.

Mr Albanese said the measures would better focus safety checks and reduce the delays for passengers at screening points.

"This means targeting our security regime to mitigate genuine risks and continuing to improve the travelling experience for passengers," he said.

The Courier-Mail last year revealed major problems at the Brisbane Airport. Passengers' belongings were stolen and a security checkpoint was left unmanned.

The White Paper will outline changes to strengthen security screening at regional airports and on smaller aircraft. Within four years, all passengers and checked baggage must be screened on smaller aircraft operating regular public transport services.

If there is an accident, airlines will have to increase liability insurance for domestic passengers from $500,000 to $750,000 a passenger.



Finally, these plastic knives were just ridiculous.

Direct flights Coast to Singapore mooted
Gold Coast Bulletin, Shannon Willoughby, December 17th, 2009
http://www.goldcoast.com.au/article/2009/12/17/170515_gold-coast-news.html

A DIRECT Gold Coast-Singapore link is on the cards, with low-cost airlines understood to be eyeing off the route.

Airport boss Paul Donovan yesterday said another two international destinations were likely to be added to the city's outbound portfolio.
"I think there is another one or two destinations you will see here," he said.

When asked if Singapore was one, he said: "Could be one".
Mr Donovan said the proposed new destinations showed the strength of the Gold (http://http://www.goldcoastairport.com.au/) Coast Airport's model and the city as a 'desirable destination'.

He said as flight schedules increased, more carriers would choose to overnight on the Coast, further boosting tourism occupancy rates.
Earlier this month, the carrier announced it would add 35 weekly services -- an additional 6195 seats a week into the Coast and more than 320,000 extra seats a year.

"There is no question what Jetstar has done has added significant value," said Mr Donovan.
" It was only a few years ago we had 35 flights a week leaving from the Coast," he said.

Yesterday, Jetstar said as well as an expansion in domestic flights, it would also look at increasing international flights with the arrival of bigger aircraft.

"We are looking at what potential the Gold Coast has to service other international markets. We do have a lot of aircraft coming over the medium term," said Simon Westaway, Jetstar's head of Corporate Relations.

"Wide body Airbus 330 have a range of around 10 hours and that opens up many more markets than simply Japan and we certainly wouldn't rule out other international markets over time."

Mr Westaway said the focus for now was the rollout of the extra 35 flights to and from the Coast.
He said this would see an extra 50 people employed, with one more plane permanently based here.

"The Gold Coast is a major focus point from capital city markets," he said.
"Jetstar is now the number one airline into the Gold Coast, moving close to 50 per cent market share.
"The airport has a great future."

Gold Coast Tourism boss Martin Winter said increased flights into the Coast were always welcomed

Qantas in talks with AirAsia for cost-saving jv

SYDNEY, Dec 18 (Reuters) - Australia's Jetstar, the low-cost airline of national carrier Qantas Airways Ltd , is in early talks with Malaysian budget airline AirAsia for a cost-saving joint venture, Qantas said on Friday.

The move is in step with Qantas's interest in forging alliances in Asia and reflects Australia's increasingly strong commercial ties with the region. AirAsia, the region's largest low-cost carrier, already runs flights into Australia while Jetstar flies some routes into Southeast Asia.

"Qantas confirms that its wholly owned subsidiary, Jetstar, and AirAsia have entered discussions regarding a potential cost saving joint venture," Qantas said in a brief statement.

"However, these discussions are at a preliminary stage and no binding agreements have been reached."

Qantas said it would update the market on progress of talks as required and gave no more details.

Earlier this week, Australia unveiled plans to scrap some foreign-ownership rules for Qantas in a move aimed at helping it play a bigger role in consolidation of the global airline industry.

Etihad flights up, but Emirates plea for more rebuffed
12 February 2010
The Age

MIDDLE EASTERN airline Etihad will be able to boost the number of flights to Australia, but rival Emirates' advances to the government for extra services have been rebuffed.

Etihad has been awarded seven additional flights a week following negotiations between the federal government and the United Arab Emirates in Canberra this week. It has also won the right for a further seven flights between Australia and Abu Dhabi from next year but on the proviso that they fly into or via a regional airport. However, Emirates' lobbying for a "reasonable" increase in the number of flights to Australia from its cap of 84 a week by 2011 has fallen on deaf ears in Canberra.

A spokesman confirmed yesterday that it had not been given any additional slots into Australia in the latest round of negotiations. Over the past 13 years Emirates has increased flights from three a week to 70.

He insisted that the negotiations were "more about housekeeping" and Emirates would return for "more formal talks" in Canberra in February next year. Over the past year the Middle Eastern airlines have maintained or increased their capacity to Australia, while Qantas and other airlines have been shedding flights due to the travel downturn.

The latest decision takes Etihad's total available quota of services from 28 to 42.

The Abu Dhabi airline will take delivery of a further 100 aircraft over the next eight years, including long-haul Boeing 777s and 787 Dreamliners, and it wants to ensure it can increase flights should the need arise.

I think this is a good idea (why wasn't it done earlier): supports the airport, flights for regional travellers and really helps tourism. I wonder if Townsville, Hobart, Canberra and Coolangatta could be on the list, even if not as attractive for the airlines.


More Seats On Routes Between Australia and the Middle East

MEDIA RELEASE, The Hon Anthony Albanese MP
Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government
12 February 2010, AA029/2010
http://www.minister.infrastructure.gov.au/aa/releases/2010/February/AA029_2010.htm

Australia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have settled a new air services agreement, opening the way for new international flights into Australia's regional airports.

Under the new arrangements, airlines such as Emirates and Etihad will be able to operate up to an additional seven services a week into Australia's major gateway airports (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth), provided these services go via a regional centre such as Cairns, Darwin or Adelaide.

This development has only been made possible because of the decision we took in our Aviation White Paper to allow foreign airlines greater access to our four major gateways for flights that make stopovers at regional airports.

We are determined to showcase regional Australia's world-class destinations and provided a much need tourism boost to our regional economies.

In addition to providing new opportunities for regional areas, the new arrangements with the UAE allow for the continued growth of services into and out of Australia's major airports.

As well as the previously agreed seven extra services a week from March 2010, Etihad will be entitled to a further seven from March 2011. At present the airline operates 21 services a week into and out of Australia.

Existing arrangements allow Emirates an extra seven weekly services from March 2010 and a further seven from March next year were confirmed, building on the 70 services they currently operate.

Air Arabia - a UAE airline based in Sharjah - will also be entitled to operate up to seven services a week from March 2011.

Reciprocal capacity increases were agreed for Australian airlines.

JETSTAR TO TRAIN PILOTS TO MEET DEMAND
MELBOURNE, June 2 (NNN-Bernama): Low-cost carrier Jetstar Airways has teamed up with two pilot schools as the airline pushes ahead with its expansion plans.

The training programme with Oxford Aviation Academy in Melbourne and CTC Aviation Group in Hamilton, New Zealand, was announced at Moorabbin Airport here on Wednesday.

Jetstar Executive Manager Operations Mark Dal Pra told reporters the airline's fleet was set to grow from the existing 60-odd aircraft to more than 100 by 2013-14.

This included adding eight Airbus A320s in the next six months, with an A330 due to arrive in December followed by another in January next year.

The airline has also flagged plans to operate long-haul services to Europe and North Asia from its Singaporean base later this year, with specific routes and destinations expected to be unveiled soon.

The expansion needed additional pilots and those that come through the specially tailored course will also be taught about Jetstar's operations.

Up to 70 pilots are expected to come through the first year of the programme, to begin in July, and increase in future years.

The airline anticipates about 20,000 applications.http://namnewsnetwork.org/v2/read.php?id=122305

Jetstar Group signs first interline deal
Jetstar Airways has signed an interline agreement with Air France and KLM, in the first such deal outside its parent Qantas Ltd.

"This is the first interline agreement covering all Jetstar airlines as a collective signed with a full service carrier outside its parent company Qantas," Jetstar said in a statement.

In a statement, Jetstar said the agreement with KLM and Air France covers the 60-odd destinations served by Jetstar, Jetstar Asia/Valueair and Jetstar Pacific, as well as Air France and KLM gateways Paris and Amsterdam.

"This partnership with one of Europe's most established carriers will provide new opportunities for customers to more easily travel to the almost 60 destinations across the Asia Pacific region that Jetstar serves," Jetstar executive manager commercial David Koczkar said.

Air France KLM Asia Pacific senior vice president Marnix Fruitema said the deal was a strategic move to improve the company's products in the region.

The airline has flagged plans to operate long-haul services to Europe and North Asia from its Singaporean base later this year, with specific routes and destinations expected to be unveiled soon.

Jetstar executive manager operations Mark Dal Pra said the airline's fleet was set to grow from the existing 60-odd aircraft to more than 100 by 2013-14.

This included adding eight Airbus A320s in the next six months, with an A330 due to arrive in December followed by another in January next year.

Pilot schools

Jetstar has teamed up two pilot schools as the low-cost carrier ramps up its expansion plans amid strong worldwide demand for pilots.

The training program with Melbourne-based Oxford Aviation Academy and CTC Aviation Group in Hamilton, New Zealand, was announced at Moorabbin Airport.

That expansion needed additional pilots and those that come through the specially tailored course will also be taught about how Jetstar operates.

"It is a key program for us because as an airline we've expanded dramatically over the last six years," Mr Dal Pra said.

"We have the opportunity to make sure that everybody who has come through the program is well trained in Jetstar specific standard operating procedures."

CTC Aviation Group chairman Chris Clarke said demand for pilots around the world was high despite setbacks to the industry such as the global recession and high oil prices.

"Aviation continues to grow," Captain Clarke said.

"In fact in the Middle East, the Far East, Australasia, the growth is still quite phenomenal."

Two courses are being offered - a three-month advanced cadet program for people who already hold a commercial pilot's licence and an 18-month "ab-initio" program for those with little or no flying experience.

Jetstar will pay the cost of the advanced program - about $80,000 - up front, with the cadets to pay that back once they start work with the airline.

Government assistance, as well as funding from Jetstar that will be paid back during employment, is available for the 18-month program.

All successful candidates will have to remain with Jetstar for six years.

Oxford Aviation Academy group managing director Anthony Petteford said the ab-initio program had created "first-class pilots" in Europe for the past 50 years, including the chief executive of British Airways plc Willie Walsh.

"I can absolutely assure you that it works," Mr Petteford said.

Up to 70 pilots were expected to come through the first year of the program, to begin in July and increase in future years.

The airline anticipated about 20,000 applications. http://www.businessspectator.com.au/bs.nsf/Article/Jetstar-Group-signs-first-interline-deal-pd20100602-62A9M?opendocument&src=rss

Jetstar to offer in flight iPad
Jetstar Airways will offer the iPad for passengers to rent for $10 on selected domestic routes, from June.

If you cannot be bothered queueing for Apple's latest must-have gadget the iPad, take to the skies instead.

From later this month, Jetstar Airways will offer the iPad for passengers to rent for $10 on selected domestic routes.

The gadget, which went on sale in Australia last Friday, will have movies and television programs as well as games, e-books and music.

The iPad would be offered on a trial basis, Jetstar said in a statement on Tuesday.

Jetstar chief executive Bruce Buchanan said he expected the iPads to prove very popular onboard.

'Given the demand for the iPad so far, I anticipate it will have strong appeal amongst our passengers,' Mr Buchanan said in the statement.

'Based on demand for the iPads as part of the trial, we'll be looking to roll out the devices across our entire domestic and international network later in the year.'

Jetstar, which is owned by Qantas Airways Ltd, said it would be one of the first airlines in the world to trial the iPad.http://bigpondnews.com/articles/Technology/2010/06/02/Jetstar_to_offer_in_flight_iPad_468740.html

^^Nice IPad offer from Jetstar :cheers:

JETSTAR AIRWAYS TO OPERATE LOW-COST FLIGHTS FROM SINGAPORE TO MELBOURNE, AUCKLAND
MELBOURNE, June 10 (NNN-BERNAMA) -- Australian low-cost carrier Jetstar Airways has chosen Melbourne and Auckland as the first two long-haul destinations for its operations out of its Singapore hub.

The Qantas-owned Jetstar will begin Melbourne-Singapore services from Dec 16 while the Auckland-Singapore flights will begin from March 17, 2011, the airline said a statement here Wednesday.

Jetstar will base two wide-body Airbus A330-200 aircraft in Singapore anmd they will be configured to carry 303 passengers in a two-class cabin.

The first will arrive from Qantas in November and the second A330 will come from the Airbus factory in early 2011.

Jetstar Chief Executive Bruce Buchanan said the new flights offered travellers "an array of new affordable travel options".

"Connecting our three largest operations in Australia, New Zealand and Singapore strengthens each of these businesses and builds a solid foundation for future growth beyond Singapore to North Asia and Europe," he said in the statement.

In May, the airline flagged plans to begin long-haul operations based out of Singapore to Australia, North Asia and Europe.

The new flights will bring to 12 the number of long-haul destinations in Jetstar's schedule, which includes flights from Australia to Japan, Thailand, Indonesia and Hawaii.

Both the Melbourne-Singapore and Auckland-Singapore flights will also operate on a code-share basis with Qantas.

The new flights are subject to regulatory approval. http://namnewsnetwork.org/v2/read.php?id=123161

AUSTRALIAN MINISTER TO PROPOSE TOUGHER PENALTIES FOR AVIATION OFFENCES
CANBERRA, June 14 (NNN-Bernama) -- Making a bomb threat on a plane or threatening flight crew could soon carry more severe penalties, China's Xinhua news agency reported Home Affairs Minister Brendan O'Connor as saying Monday.

The penalty increases would provide greater consistency with other criminal legislation, O'Connor said.

"These crimes cause great distress and inconvenience and impose unnecessary costs on the industry," O'Connor said in a statement.

"Threats and hoaxes can also compromise public safety, for example, where a flight has to be diverted at short notice or where an airport needs to be evacuated suddenly."

O'Connor on Monday will propose tougher penalties for aviation crimes.

The proposed changes to the Crimes (Aviation) Act 1991 would see the maximum penalty for hoaxes where a person makes a false threat to destroy, damage or endanger an aircraft or airport, increase from two years to 10 years imprisonment.

Damaging a major runway or air traffic control facility would carry a maximum 14 year jail term, while assaulting a pilot or endangering an aircraft in flight would carry 20 years jail.

The offences now carry 10 and 15 years jail respectively.

Life in jail would continue to apply to offences such as hijacking or destroying an aircraft or being so reckless on a flight as to cause death.

Three new offences are also proposed.

They are assaulting an aircraft crew member, reckless endangerment of an aircraft, and having dangerous goods on an aircraft.

Aviation groups have been consulted in the development of the proposed new laws.http://namnewsnetwork.org/v2/read.php?id=123690

JETSTAR AIRWAYS TO OPERATE LOW-COST FLIGHTS FROM SINGAPORE TO MELBOURNE, AUCKLAND
http://namnewsnetwork.org/v2/read.php?id=123161

Hmmm .. this smells like outsourcing of Qantas' international routes. I'd think Jetstar costs would be logically lower.

Hi there,

Does anyone here know of any Domestic QF crew that fly in (possibly using staff travel) from other cities to go to their homebase?

Is it a rare thing?

I am living in Melbourne and looking to do the ADL base.

Cheers

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http://farm1.static.flickr.com/46/137936684_8664414a7a_b.jpg

For air travel, the magic number is 8 --- CHEAPEST TICKETS
23 August 2010
Sydney MX

Economists have calculated that the optimum time to book an airline ticket is eight weeks before the travel date. Also, do it in the afternoon rather than the morning to get the best deal.

Book earlier than eight weeks and you run the risk that your personal plans may change and the booking may need to be altered, but leave it later and there's an increased risk that prices will go up or the flight could be fully booked. Researchers have produced the mind-boggling mathematical formula ?A = gUG + min(k - g, (1 - g)(1 - r)) as part of the complex calculation to work out the eight-week result.

The symbol ? equals profit, which determines advance ticket purchases.

The work by Japan-based economists Makoto Watanabe and Marc Moller has been published by The Royal Economic Society.

The discrepancy between times of day is possibly explained by business travellers tending to book trips from the office earlier in the day and more price-conscious holidaymakers booking from home later on, the economists suggest.

They also highlight differences in timing policy in booking flights compared to booking theatre tickets, where last-minute deals can be available.

``The purchase of airline and theatre tickets are both examples where individual demand uncertainty and rationing risks interfere,'' the report says.

``However, there is empirical evidence which shows that airline ticket prices typically increase over time while theatre tickets are often sold at a discount on the day.''

AIRLINE, AIRPORT TARGET LINKS TO CHINA
26 August 2010
The Cairns Post

DIRECT flights between Cairns and China are the new target of both low cost carrier Jetstar and the Cairns Airport.

Both parties revealed their intentions yesterday as the airline announced a series of new domestic flights.

Airport chief executive Stephen Gregg said China was on his wish list.

He said the airport had been doing a lot of work on the destination with 30 per cent of Chinese leisure travellers visiting the Far North.

Mr Gregg said the airport had held "a range of conversations' with several Chinese airlines and, while many Chinese people came to Cairns indirectly via Cathay Pacific and Hong Kong, he was keen on direct scheduled services.

He said previous and proposed charter flights for the Chinese New Year and other holiday periods were increasing.

"The more Chinese that come here obviously a business case for a Cairns-China scheduled service gets better every day," Mr Gregg said.

Jetstar corporate relations head Simon Westaway said Jetstar would soon be announcing five new flights between its Singapore hub and China.

He said with increasing numbers of Chinese visiting Cairns there were opportunities to consider direct Cairns-Singapore and/or direct Cairns-China services.

But Mr Westaway said China was a difficult and complex destination to establish and it was a medium to long term aspiration.

Qantas looks at flights to Brazil
6 September 2010
The Age

QANTAS is considering tapping into the booming Brazilian economy by flying either to Sao Paulo or the popular tourist destination of Rio de Janiero.

Any decision by the airline to launch flights to Brazil is likely to result in it dropping services to Argentina's capital, Buenos Aires, because of insufficient traffic to maintain two routes to South America.

Qantas would not comment, but insiders said it was not a surprise to hear that Brazil was high on the airline's list of possible destinations because the resource-rich economy was booming. Sao Paulo's two airports have about twice the annual passenger traffic as those in Buenos Aires.

The Australia-Buenos Aires route is understood to still be unprofitable for Qantas despite a general improvement in demand for international flights.

Argentina's flag carrier, Aerolineas Argentinas, is planning to fly directly between Sydney and Buenos Aires early next year rather than stop over in Auckland, which would prove a bigger threat to Qantas on the route.

However, flying to Sao Paulo or Rio de Janiero would be a challenge for Qantas because of the long flight time. It would have to be flown by a four-engine aircraft such as a 747-400 jumbo, which would not be able to take a full payload because of the distance involved.

Some insiders said a broader alliance with Chile's flag carrier, LAN, that allowed Qantas to link to more South American destinations made better sense than launching direct flights to Brazil. Qantas already code shares on LAN flights between Sydney and Chile's capital, Santiago.

Insiders also said it was not the right time for Qantas to launch a route and it would be better to wait to see whether the global economy avoided entering a double-dip recession.

QANTAS STICKS TO ITS TWO-AIRLINE STRATEGY
MELBOURNE, Sept 5(NNN-Bernama) -- -- Qantas Airways says global operating conditions have rebounded from historic lows, but the aviation industry remains competitive, challenging and potentially volatile.

And the airline, in its annual report released Friday, affirms its two airline strategy, which it says offers flexibility to ride economic cycles, leverage different sectors of the market, and maintain a robust operating cash flow.

"Looking ahead, the Australian commercial aviation sector will remain highly competitive, both domestically and internationally," Chairman Leigh Clifford says in the report.

"To succeed, the Qantas Group's two flying brands will be competing vigorously every day in their different market segments - the full service Qantas and the low fares Jetstar."http://namnewsnetwork.org/v2/read.php?id=132227

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Virgin Blue, Etihad get clearance for alliance

Virgin Blue and Etihad Airways have received interim authorisation from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) for their alliance.
The interim authorisation will now allow the two airlines to start selling joint fares on each others’ networks from October 1. The two carriers will integrate the Etihad Guest and Velocity programs, with members able to earn and spend points on both carriers from the same date.
“This is an important milestone as we create a global international network, greater competition on the international landscape and benefit our guests with great value fares, better scheduling and more choice,” said Virgin Blue CEO John Borghetti.
The two carriers are awaiting full authorisation before V Australia will commence three times weekly services from Sydney to Abu Dhabi, while it is also planning to start Brisbane-Abu Dhabi services from February 2012.
The granting of interim authorisation is a significant achievement for Virgin Blue, which is currently trying to overturn interim decisions which would block its other proposed alliances with Delta Air Lines and Air New Zealand. The alliances are a key part of Borghetti’s “go forward” strategy for Virgin Blue which will also see it place a greater emphasis on the lucrative corporate market.

http://australianaviation.com.au/virgin-blue-etihad-get-clearance-for-alliance/

Transport bureau to review air safety rules
4 November 2010
The Age
http://www.theage.com.au/national/transport-bureau-to-review-air-safety-rules-20101103-17e4f.html

AUSTRALIA'S air safety rules are set for an overhaul, after an official admission that of 15,000 reported aviation incidents a year, only about 100 of them are formally investigated.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau says that, even for fatal accidents, it "isn't budgeted to investigate everything". The number of incident reports have almost doubled since 2003, but almost half of these are deemed irrelevant or duplicated information.

The safety bureau is now reviewing the types of aviation incidents that must be reported, when an incident must be reported, and by whom.

Critics of the current system, including Senator Nick Xenophon, who has launched a separate Senate inquiry into aviation safety and pilot training, warn of the potential conflict of interest for airlines to fully report breaches of safety regulations.

"Some airlines could have a commercial incentive to downplay incidents and that is not good enough," Senator Xenophon said, ahead of establishing the Senate inquiry.

But there's a deadline mis-match between concurrent reviews: the Senate is due to report its findings by November 17 while the bureau is seeking industry feedback on its proposed changes by December 17, ahead of proposed revisions being put before Parliament in the middle of next year.

But even as the regulations stand, there are clear penalties for those in the aviation industry who fail to report incidents.

Under the Transport Safety Investigation Act, a "blatant disregard" to report a safety incident can be referred to federal police for investigation.

Source:http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20101115/tap-australia-aviation-incident-qantas-5a1703c.html

Troubled Qantas flight returns to Australia
AFP - Monday, November 15

SYDNEY (AFP) - – A Qantas Boeing 747 en route to Argentina was forced to return to Sydney on Monday after an electrical problem, the Australian airline said, in the latest in a string of similar incidents.

The carrier, which has grounded its A380 superjumbos after a mid-air engine blast earlier this month, said the flight carrying 199 passengers spent about two hours in the air before landing without incident at Sydney airport.

"We're not entirely sure what the issue is at this stage," a Qantas spokeswoman told AFP. "It's a minor technical issue at this stage, that's all we know."

The captain of the flight, which had been destined for Buenos Aires, had requested priority to land after turning around and dumping fuel, she said.

A statement from the airline said the plane developed an "issue... with the electrical system", without giving details. It added there was no loss of pressure or oxygen on board.

Qantas has faced safety fears in recent weeks after a double-decker A380 carrying 466 passengers and crew was forced to make an emergency landing in Singapore shortly after takeoff following an engine failure.

That explosion on November 4, which sent engine components raining down on an Indonesian island, is being investigated by engine maker Rolls-Royce and has forced the grounding of Qantas' six A380s.

The following day, a Sydney-bound Boeing 747 turned back to Singapore shortly after take-off after reporting engine trouble, with one passenger saying she saw the affected engine sparking like fireworks.

On Friday, a Melbourne-bound Boeing 767 with 234 passengers returned to Perth, Western Australia because of engine vibrations.

Dow Jones Newswires, quoting an unnamed source, said Monday Qantas may have to replace up to 14 Rolls-Royce Trent 900 jets on its fleet of A380s, which each have four of the turbines, before the fleet can return to service.

Air is king in a land girt by sea
16 November 2010
The Sydney Morning Herald

Just as the flying kangaroo has grown and evolved over the past nine decades, so too has the way Australians view aviation, writes Denise McNabb.

When Qantas first took to the skies in 1920, air travel was a novelty that few people had experienced.

Bursting onto the aviation scene less than 20 years after the pioneering exploits of the Wright brothers, the company initially offered a taxi service, as well as joy flights for thrill seekers eager to visit the blue yonder.

Aviation technology must have been awe-inspiring and a little frightening for Australians at the time, given that even motor cars were a rarity. Horse power generally meant a vehicle was drawn by a horse.

Yet in the 90 years the company has been in existence, air travel has evolved to become an inherent part of our lives.

Few of us would now expect to go through life without travelling by air on numerous occasions. We step on a plane to travel in the same casual way people just a generation or two ago stepped on a bus.

The changes in our behaviour have come about as Qantas, and air travel as a whole, has evolved over the decades.

For example, 52 years ago the first around-the-world air ticket from Australia cost nearly as much as a Sydney bungalow.

But the lure of exotic ports in far-off places proved irresistible to an increasingly affluent and adventurous breed of Australians who would earn the tag "jet-setters".

The world was at their feet and, from Australia on an easy-pay travel credit plan, a £573 Qantas "across the world" ticket could be bought with a 10 per cent deposit and a two-year contract to pay it off.

More thrifty travellers could save for their ticket on the airline's lay-by plan, attracting 3.5 per cent interest.

By any measure, a global air journey back then was a costly call when the average annual Australian wage for a man was £322 and £218 for a woman.

It's a far cry from the return economy fares hovering about $2000 or less for London flights today.

Fierce competition slashing airline margins, an abundance of carriers, travel by the masses and technological advances making jets more economical than their predecessors have all caused fares to become increasingly more affordable since those early days.

On January 14, 1958, when Qantas launched its around-the-world services through Bangkok, Bombay, Rome, London, Cairo, New York and various other ports, it had 14 Lockheed Super Constellation piston-engined propeller planes in its long-haul fleet. The sleek, triple-tailed Connies, as they were affectionately known, were the first aircraft to introduce pressurised cabins on a widespread basis.

They offered tourist-class passengers airborne indulgence with their roomy seats and doily-covered tray tables for sumptuous meal services. There were bunk beds in first class and big windows by today's standards.

But the arrival of the Boeing 707 jet aircraft was just around the corner. The Connies, as elegant as they were, could only seat between 69 and 95 passengers and had a cruising speed of 480km/h.

The Boeing 707 was much larger, could travel up to 200km/h faster and seat up to 120 passengers.

The latter's introduction to the fleet heralded a new era in international air travel for Australians.

The speedier journey to the northern hemisphere not only catered for intrepid tourists but the craft's roomy hold opened up freight services, stimulated exports, provided a means for mass immigration and brought Australian business into the global marketplace. For the first time, air travel out of Australia surpassed travel by sea.

The managing director of Australia's Tourism and Transport Forum, Christopher Brown, says Qantas championed the brand of Australia.

"The world has few global champions and this one has lasted 90 years," he says. "No country has depended on its aviation relationship more than Australia. We are an island continent a long way from anywhere, so Qantas has been Australia's lifeline."

Brown says although the company is now a listed company after being government owned, Australians still treat it as their own.

"This means it is judged more harshly," he says. "The fact that its every movement, its incidents and performance were scrutinised is an onerous responsibility."

When Qantas turned 75, John Stackhouse, in his book ... From the Dawn of Aviation: the Qantas Story, quoted Keith Hamilton, who helmed Qantas in the early '90s.

Hamilton said Qantas had become part of the fabric of Australia.

90 years of Qantas

1919 Former Australian Flying Corps officers Hudson Fysh and Paul McGinness see an opportunity for an aviation business carrying people across the outback.

1920 The pair come together with grazier Fergus McMaster to form Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited.

It initally offers joyrides and taxi flights.

1922 Regular scheduled airmail and passenger services begin on November 2, 1922, from Charleville to Cloncurry in rural Queensland.

1928 Qantas operates the first flying doctor service for the Reverend John Flynn's Australian Inland Mission.

1931 The airline carries mail to Darwin as part of an experimental Australia tothe UK mail service.

1935 A Qantas plane flies on an international route for the first time as a DH86 travels between Brisbane and Singapore.

1938 Four-engine Empire flying boats are introduced and bring new levels of luxury and comfort to the Australia--UK route.

1940s Qantas maintains vital airlinks during World War II.

1947 Qantas takes delivery of its first pressurised long-range Lockheed Constellation, which goes into service on the famous Kangaroo Route between Sydney and London.

1950 Qantas inaugurates its own commercial services to Japan.

1956 The airline carries the Olympic flame from Athens to Darwin on its way to the Melbourne Olympics.

1959 Qantas enters the jet age by taking delivery of its first Boeing 707.

1971 The advanced B model of the Boeing 747 comes into service.

1989 The first Qantas Longreach series Boeing 747-400 is delivered.

1994 A Qantas B747-400 is painted in a striking Aboriginal design.

1995 The full privatisation of Qantas occurs.

2008 Qantas's first A380 makes its maiden journey.

2010 The airline celebrates its 90th anniversary.

2012 Qantas is set to receive its first Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner.

Source:http://au.news.yahoo.com/thewest/a/-/breaking/8326985/qantas-problems-threaten-holidays/

Qantas problems threaten holidays
GEOFFREY THOMAS, AVIATION EDITOR, The West Australian November 16, 2010, 6:38 am

Qantas and Singapore Airlines are desperately trying to find planes and reschedule timetables for the busy Christmas season after revelations that the A380 superjumbos may be grounded for far longer than expected.

The news came as Qantas had another setback yesterday when a 747 flight from Sydney to Buenos Aires turned back because of an electrical problem.

Airbus said yesterday that Singapore Airlines might have to replace up to 20 of the Trent 900 engines in its fleet of 11 A380s and Qantas 14 engines on its fleet of six A380s.

The giant aircraft manufacturer revealed on Friday that new Rolls-Royce engines had a modification that rectified the oil leak that caused the catastrophic explosion on Qantas QF32 after take-off from Singapore on November 4.

Airbus has already offered to fly some engines out from the A380 production line to help Qantas, but with 34 new engines now required it may be February at least before the total A380 fleet is back in the air.

Both airlines say it is too early to access the full impact of the continued A380s problems on Christmas traffic but usually all flights are near full from December 15 through to January 5.

Some flights from Perth will be affected, with the major problems being out of Singapore to Europe and on flights to the US.

Qantas has already replaced some 303-seat A330 services with 265-seat 767s on flights to Asian ports and is chartering aircraft from British Airways.

The A330s are replacing 400-seat 747s that have been moved on to 470-seat A380 routes.

Qantas is due to get three more A380s before Christmas, including one before the end of the month, and they all have the upgraded Trent 972 engine.

However, the airline also wants to retire some older 747s as the A380s enter service, placing a strain on capacity.

The A380 program is over two years late and this has placed pressure on Qantas maintenance keeping the 747s up to the airline's standards.

In some cases, critical structural items such as undercarriages are close to the end of their cycles and hours and need to be replaced, which is time-consuming and costly.
Singapore Airlines spokesman Nicholas Ionides said the airline was "maintaining a full flight schedule, albeit with a switch in aircraft type to smaller 747-400s and 777s for some flights".

Sydney-Buenos Aires Flight Turned Back
16 November 2010
The Wall Street Journal Online

SYDNEY—A Buenos Aires-bound Qantas Airways Ltd. flight had to turn back after takeoff Monday due to a problem with the plane's electrical system, the latest in a string of midair incidents that have plagued the carrier in recent weeks.

The aircraft, a Boeing 747, was carrying 199 passengers, three flight crew and 18 cabin crew, and has since landed safely in Sydney. Qantas engineers are inspecting the plane to determine the cause of the incident. The airline said the forced landing was the result of an electrical problem, not an engine problem, as has been the case in the company's other recent plane groundings.

Qantas' latest bout of troubles began Nov. 4 when one of its Airbus A380 super jumbo jets was forced to make an emergency landing in Singapore after an engine blow-out. Australia's national flag carrier grounded its fleet of A380s, but in the interim Qantas has experienced three midair incidents that have forced landings of its 747s as well.

Monday's flight landed within two hours and 10 minutes of takeoff, after the flight crew requested priority clearance to land the aircraft back at the Sydney airport. The plane dumped fuel as it returned to Sydney, a spokeswoman said.

A Civil Aviation Safety Authority spokesman did not comment on the 747 landing Monday.

Investors and analysts didn't seem too worried about the impact of the incident on the airline, and Qantas shares ended the day down 1 Australian cent (1 U.S. cent), or 0.4%, to A$2.79. The stock was A$2.82 before news of the latest incident broke.

"I'm not concerned," Deutsche Bank analyst Cameron McDonald said. "They have focused on safety, and they've turned aircraft around and landed them safely."

The plane had GE engines rather than Rolls-Royce engines used in the A380s and at least one of the 747s that landed with technical problems in the past two weeks.

Qantas is the world's second largest buyer of the new A380 jumbo jet, which it has been looking to as a way to modernize its fleet. The average age of a Qantas plane is 8.6 years, compared with six years at Singapore Airlines.

Mr. McDonald said the airline's fleet had been getting progressively younger.

A Qantas spokesman said the airline has six A380s in its fleet, with three more scheduled for delivery before the end of this year. With the average price of an A380 at around A$350 million, the airline may have spent more than A$3 billion on its A380 investment so far.

There is still no timeline for when Qantas will put its A380s back in flight.

Over time, the A380s are expected to replace the older 747 aircraft. Qantas currently has 27 747s, according to its Data Book.

One analyst said because the airline is using the 747s more while its A380s are grounded, the chances of technical issues with the planes in service is higher.

"The likelihood of there being minor incidents has just increased," Russell Shaw, an analyst at Macquarie said. But unless widespread issues with the maintenance of the planes is uncovered, he said it's "hard to see" the string of 747 problems turning customers away from Qantas.

Source:http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/11/16/3068217.htm

Jetstar plane forced to turn back
Updated 5 hours 35 minutes ago

A Jetstar plane bound for Mackay has been forced to return to Brisbane after experiencing a mechanical problem.

A spokesman for Brisbane Airport confirmed flight JQ888 took off but returned shortly afterwards. None of the 164 passengers were injured.

Jetstar spokesman Simon Westaway says the A320 landed without incident and passengers were transferred to different flights.

"The issue was we were losing some hydraulic fluid. A directive was given to the captain that some fluid was left on the tarmac when the aircraft took off," he said.

"The aircraft would've been stranded in Mackay if it pushed onwards to Mackay and the decision, the right decision, was made to return that aircraft back to Brisbane."

Mr Westaway says engineers are examining the plane and the company hopes to have it back in operation within 24 hours.

"We have a major base and facility in Brisbane. That is the best place for that aircraft to be looked after," he said.

"The aircraft had only just recently taken off out of Brisbane so it made complete sense for the captain to bring that aircraft safely back into Brisbane.

"It was met by emergency services - they weren't required - but again this is all part of the safe management of our skies."

He says the A320s have three hydraulic systems and investigations are underway to discover which one failed.

He says it could have been the landing gear.

Jetstar says safety was never compromised.

$89 Oz fares as cheap as a cab to the airport
17 November 2010
New Zealand Herald

A cutprice airfare war has erupted on the Tasman, and some flights are now as cheap or even cheaper than the taxi fare to Auckland Airport from the central city.

Travel industry experts said yesterday airlines were trying to encourage bookings to fill flights during quiet periods.

Some said sales had been picking up as New Zealanders recovered from the recession, and discounts were a good way to get those who had not travelled during the economic crisis to plan a trip.

The latest sales end by tomorrow unless sold out earlier - some end today - and are for travel between February and June next year, depending on the destination.

Flight Centre this week advertised a one-way Auckland-Sydney fare, flying Emirates, for $89.

That deal ended on Tuesday but Emirates is offering a $174 fare until tomorrow.

Jetstar has a $99 fare on the same route, and an $89 one-way deal between Auckland and Gold Coast. These deals end at midnight tonight.

Some of these fares are cheaper than the cost of a cab from Auckland's airport to the central city and beyond, which can cost anywhere from $60 on a good day to $100 in rush-hour traffic.

Jetstar spokeswoman Andrea Wait said the $89 flights to the Gold Coast were the lowest Tasman prices the company had offered for some time.

She said the sale was to mark Jetstar's 5th anniversary of flying the Tasman.

The company is also advertising $99 flights from Auckland to Melbourne and $149 flights to Cairns.

Cheap tickets are not only being offered on flights to and from Australia.

Pacific Blue is advertising bargain fares to Pacific Islands, which airline spokesman Phil Boeyen said were a popular holiday destination for many New Zealanders.

``It's a great time for people to think about their travel plans beyond Christmas,'' he said.

House of Travel retail director Brent Thomas said New Zealand's appeal as an international destination meant many airlines flew here.

The airlines had to return aircraft during times of slow demand, so travellers wanting to leave New Zealand often benefited from specials, he said.

Mr Thomas and Flight Centre national product manager James Brooker said New Zealanders were travelling overseas more than last year.

Mr Brooker said airlines were aware of the renewed interest in travel, and were competing for passengers with ``early bird specials''.

Emirates' manager for New Zealand and the Pacific Islands, Chris Lethbridge, said trips to Australia were in high demand during school holidays and for major events including rugby games, but at other times travellers needed an incentive.

Emirates' sale was ``to encourage some early booking at times when we're anticipating that the loads might be a little bit lighter than the peak season''.

Alert Taxis managing director Robert Van Heiningen said most flights would cost more than a cab ride to the airport, and thought that paying $100 for such a trip was a ``little heavy''.

``Under normal circumstances, it shouldn't be anywhere near that.''

Fares were charged based on the distance travelled and the time the journey took, and were most often between about $50 and $70, he said.

Johannesburg - Sydney Qantas Flight Returns To Airport

16th November 2010 - VH-OEI in another airport return.
Boeing 747-438ER VH-OEI, involved in the QF17 incident yesterday, is reported to have again had to dump fuel and return, this time to Johannesburg whilst operating QF64 to Sydney. We have no further details on the incident at this time.

http://www.theqantassource.com/

Source:http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101117/wl_asia_afp/australiaaviationincidentqantas_20101117012032

Australian flyer Qantas hit by bird strike

SYDNEY (AFP) – A Qantas Boeing 747 had to turn back to Johannesburg after one of its engines suffered a bird strike, the airline said Wednesday, the latest in a string of incidents to beset the Australian carrier.

Qantas said the plane's number two engine shut down with turbine damage after sucking in a bird shortly after takeoff late Tuesday, forcing an emergency landing. There were 171 passengers on board.

"The aircraft is being worked on by engineers," a Qantas spokesman told AFP.

"It's just a bit of damage to some of the turbine blades, it's not a huge thing."

One of Qantas' smaller Boeing 717s was hit by lightning on a regional flight between the Australian destinations of Alice Springs and Darwin hours earlier, causing "minor damage" to the exterior.

The incidents follow the return to Sydney of a Qantas Boeing 747 bound for Buenos Aires on Monday after it suffered an electrical fault which caused smoke to pour into the cockpit.

Qantas has been plagued with mechanical issues since grounding its fleet of Airbus A380s after an engine exploded on one of the superjumbos on November 4, forcing an emergency landing in Singapore.

A Boeing 747 had to turn back to Singapore with a sparking engine the following day, and a Melbourne-bound Boeing 767 returned to the west coast city of Perth with engine vibration a week later.

The Qantas spokesman said the airline experienced bird strikes two or three times a year and it was a "pretty rare occurrence".

A US Airways Airbus A320 famously ditched in New York's Hudson River last January after a bird strike on both of its engines, in an incident widely known as the "Miracle on the Hudson" because there was no loss of life.

A bird strike cannot be controlled by the pilot, and better maintenance will not be able to prevent it. If anyone has to accept the blame, it'll be the airport authority that manages the runways. They should send the sharp-shooters out to scare these creatures away more regularly.

Sydney 'doesn't need second airport'
17 November 2010

AIRPORT SYDNEY, Nov 17 AAP - Sydney doesn't need a second major airport, Australia's airport operators say.

In addition to Sydney Airport's ability to meet forecast demand there are four smaller airports serving the state, the Australian Airports Association (AAA) says.

Bankstown, Camden, Canberra and Newcastle airports are all able to meet the aviation activity demand that is forecast in Sydney airport's Master Plans, it says.

AAA executive director Caroline Wilkie says the five airports can meet Sydney's medium to long-term aviation needs.

"Sydney Airport has the capacity to meet forecast aviation demand in the Sydney region to at least 2029," Ms Wilkie said in a statement on Wednesday.

"This is clearly shown in its Master Plan, which was approved by the Australian government in 2009."

In 2008, the federal government renewed a search for a site for a second major airport, which would cost around $15 billion by some estimates.

But Ms Wilkie said even if a new airport were be built, it would be very distant from Sydney and would need high-speed rail and augmented motorway infrastructure.

"The money needed to provide such infrastructure would be far better spent on improving existing ground transport infrastructure that would better link the Sydney CBD and current airport assets in NSW and the ACT," she said.

Passengers 'left on planes and forced off flights'
18 November 2010
The Sydney Morning Herald

AIRLINES have failed to meet a July deadline to submit plans on how to improve treatment of disabled passengers, as wheelchair-reliant, blind and intellectually impaired people flood government agencies with complaints.

The disability commissioner, Graeme Innes, says people have been left on planes for 45 minutes until cleaners have found them because staff have failed to assist them to disembark. Others have been lost in terminals or bumped at check-in because of limits on assistance dogs per flight.

Mr Innes blamed staff cutbacks and called for the government to step in and regulate to stop airlines ignoring the needs of disabled passengers.

Airlines were breaching the Disability Discrimination Act, Mr Innes said, and called for tougher aviation safety laws.

"I don't think airlines are taking this stuff seriously enough. I think that the government needs to regulate . . . They have had 17 years to get this stuff right, but they are still not getting it right," he told the Herald.

Jetstar caused an uproar last year when it forced the Paralympian Kurt Fearnley to check in his wheelchair as luggage, leaving him to crawl through Brisbane Airport in protest at the unsuitable alternative wheelchair offered to him.

An industry working group had agreed all airlines and airports would submit plans on how they catered for disabled passengers but only Rex and three airports met the deadline.

Mr Innes said incidents included three wheelchair users being told airline policy limited each flight to two wheelchairs, and an airline forgetting a passenger and leaving the person on the plane. "The cleaners rock up and say: 'Oh, what are you doing here?"' Mr Innes said.

Mr Innes said it was not an isolated case. "There just aren't enough staff. The things that are different - getting a chair to the door of the plane, guiding a blind person from the plane to the terminal - those extra jobs are the first ones to fall off."

His call for tougher laws was made at a disability and international aid forum attended by Coalition and Labor MPs, including the Foreign Affairs Minister, Kevin Rudd.

Mr Innes also expressed his disappointment that Australia's international aid program was not doing more to directly help the disabled, who were the "poorest of the poor" in developing countries.

Mr Rudd said $88 million had been allocated by AusAid since 2008 to disability-inclusive aid programs.

But Mr Innes, who is blind, said disability aid money was focused on preventing avoidable blindness and traffic accidents, which were health issues. "There's nothing wrong with preventing disability, just don't take it out of the disability budget," he said.

A spokeswoman for Mr Rudd said a $30.2 million in aid for disabled groups and equipment did not appear in a Labor election document but its funding remained intact.

Source:http://sg.news.yahoo.com/afp/20101122/tap-australia-aviation-incident-qantas-h-5a1703c.html


'Rare' oxygen bottle blast holed Qantas jet: probe
AFP - Monday, November 22

SYDNEY (AFP) - – Australian air safety officials on Monday ruled that a "very rare" oxygen bottle explosion was behind a dramatic mid-air blast which forced the emergency landing of a Qantas flight from Hong Kong in 2008.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau (ATSB) said the "forceful rupture" of one of the aircraft's emergency oxygen cylinders had punched a large hole in the Boeing 747's fuselage, causing rapid depressurisation of the cabin.

Passengers had to use oxygen masks which dropped from the ceiling while the captain immediately brought the aircraft down to 10,000 feet and made an emergency landing at Manila International Airport.

None of the 369 passengers and crew was injured.

"The investigation found no record of any other related instances of aviation oxygen cylinder rupture -- civil or military," the ATSB said in its final report into the July 2008 incident.

"Given the widespread and long-term use of this type of cylinder in aerospace applications, it was clear that this occurrence was a very rare event."

The explosion, about an hour into the flight to Melbourne, was so forceful it blew a two-metre wide hole in the plane's body which had debris, wiring and cargo protruding from it at the time of landing.

Investigators were unable to retrieve the bottle, presumed to have been sucked out of the plane over the South China Sea, but the ATSB said a "comprehensive program of testing" was carried out on cylinders of the same type and from the same batch.

"(Testing) did not identify any aspect of the cylinder design or manufacture that could represent a threat to the operational integrity of the cylinders," the ATSB said.

"It is the ATSB's view that passengers, crew and operators... can be confident that the ongoing risk of cylinder failure and consequent aircraft damage remains very low."

The findings come as Qantas grapples with the grounding of its A380 superjumbo fleet following an engine explosion over Indonesia earlier this month.

The national carrier has been plagued with mechanical problems since the November 4 blast, with two Boeing aircraft experiencing engine trouble and a third grounded by a bird strike at Johannesburg last week.

Rolls-Royce has said it may have to replace up to 40 engines on A380s flown by Qantas, Germany's Lufthansa and Singapore Airlines after pinpointing a "specific component" as responsible for an oil fire behind the blast.

Unruly passenger forces flight diversion
21 November 2010
Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Travellers onboard an international flight, which had to be diverted to Broome in Western Australia due to an unruly passenger, say airline staff handled the situation well.

The Virgin Blue aircraft was flying from Denpasar to Melbourne when a man became aggressive and struggled with staff who were trying to restrain him.

Passenger Katie Payne says two prison guards who were on the flight helped staff to handcuff the man and take him to the rear of the aeroplane.

"He was becoming increasingly aggressive to the point where the pilot and the crew feared for the other passengers' safety," Ms Payne said.

"The staff onboard were trying to keep us calm while it was all happening because it was a pretty unusual and quite frightening circumstance."

Mark Cornell, an off-duty prison officer from Melbourne, says he is glad he could help to ensure the safety of his fellow passengers.

"He had his arms up in the air and he was twisting and he had slight muscle spasms at the time," he said.

"By the time we landed his muscle spasms were quite, almost violent and we were having trouble actually keeping him pinned to the seat.

"He'd muscle spasm an arm out and the girl that was sitting next to him was trying to move away."

Police met the plane when it touched down and the man was taken to Broome Hospital where he is being assessed.

Police say it is unclear whether the man was affected by drugs or if he had mental health problems.

Virgin Blue says, because the plane landed prematurely, it had additional fuel on board and made a heavy landing.

An engineer has been called in to check the aircraft before it is expected to continue its journey to Melbourne.

Passengers have been accommodated in Broome.

The plane is expected to leave Broome late this afternoon, Perth time.

Sydney 'doesn't need second airport'
17 November 2010

AIRPORT SYDNEY, Nov 17 AAP - Sydney doesn't need a second major airport, Australia's airport operators say.

In addition to Sydney Airport's ability to meet forecast demand there are four smaller airports serving the state, the Australian Airports Association (AAA) says.

Bankstown, Camden, Canberra and Newcastle airports are all able to meet the aviation activity demand that is forecast in Sydney airport's Master Plans, it says.

AAA executive director Caroline Wilkie says the five airports can meet Sydney's medium to long-term aviation needs.

"Sydney Airport has the capacity to meet forecast aviation demand in the Sydney region to at least 2029," Ms Wilkie said in a statement on Wednesday.

"This is clearly shown in its Master Plan, which was approved by the Australian government in 2009."

In 2008, the federal government renewed a search for a site for a second major airport, which would cost around $15 billion by some estimates.

But Ms Wilkie said even if a new airport were be built, it would be very distant from Sydney and would need high-speed rail and augmented motorway infrastructure.

"The money needed to provide such infrastructure would be far better spent on improving existing ground transport infrastructure that would better link the Sydney CBD and current airport assets in NSW and the ACT," she said.

these idiots obviously don't know much about the geography of NSW. Canberra serving as a second airport? Even with a high-speed rail link to Central Sydney, it'd still be a pain in the arse.

HAWAIIAN INCREASING SYDNEY-HONOLULU FLIGHTS TO DAILY SERVICE

HONOLULU, Nov. 23, 2010 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ --

Hawaiian Airlines today announced an increase in its nonstop service between Sydney and Honolulu in 2011, highlighted by daily flights for the period of April 6 - August 1, to meet customer demand during the peak travel season. Hawaiian currently serves the Sydney-Honolulu route with flights four days per week.

"We know how much Australian travelers enjoy their holidays in Hawaii, so we are increasing our flight schedule during their favorite time of year to travel. This gives them greater flexibility in making their plans, and the timing couldn't be better as Hawaii is a great value for Australians," said Avi Mannis, Hawaiian's vice president of revenue management and schedule planning.

From April 6 through August 1, 2011, Hawaiian's Flight #452 will depart Sydney Airport daily at 9:20 p.m. and arrive at Honolulu International Airport at 11:00 a.m. the same day. Return Flight #451 will depart Honolulu daily at 12:40 p.m. and arrive in Sydney at 7:20 p.m. the following day.

(Sydney is currently 21 hours ahead of Honolulu and the flight crosses the International Dateline.)

Hawaiian will be offering daily flights between Sydney and Honolulu for the first time since launching service on the route in May 2004.

Starting August 2, 2011, Hawaiian will begin offering flights five days weekly between Sydney and Honolulu, adding one more day to the current service schedule. Hawaiian's flight departures from Sydney will take place on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays, with the return flights from Honolulu on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

Altogether, Hawaiian's increased service will add approximately 19,00 new air seats from Sydney to Hawaii's tourism industry in 2011.

Hawaiian will continue to operate the Sydney route using its wide-body Boeing 767-300ER aircraft. The twin-aisle B767 comfortably seats up to 264 passengers with 18 in Business Class and the remainder in Economy Class.

Adding to the enjoyment of the Hawaii travel experience is Hawaiian's promise to "start your Hawaii vacation the moment you board" with its distinctive and award-winning "Hawaii Starts Here" onboard service, showcasing the culture, music, natural beauty, and people of the Hawaiian Islands.

Travelers can purchase tickets for Hawaiian's Sydney-Honolulu flights from their favorite travel agent, online via Hawaiian's Australia website at www.HawaiianAirlines.com.au or its site at www.HawaiianAirlines.com, or by calling Hawaiian toll-free in Australia at 1300-669-106 or in the United States through its reservations center at 1-800-367-5320.

About Hawaiian Airlines

Hawaiian is the nation's highest-ranked carrier for service quality and performance in 2009 in the 20th annual Airline Quality Rating study, having earned that distinction in three of the past four years. Hawaiian has also led all U.S. carriers in on-time performance for each of the past six years (2004-2009) as reported by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Consumer surveys by Conde Nast Traveler, Travel + Leisure and Zagat have all ranked Hawaiian the top domestic airline offering flights to Hawaii.

Now in its 82nd year of continuous service for Hawaii, Hawaiian is the state's biggest and longest-serving airline, as well as the largest provider of passenger air service to Hawaii from the state's primary visitor markets on the U.S. mainland. Hawaiian offers nonstop service to Hawaii from more U.S. gateway cities (10) than any other airline, as well as service to Japan, the Philippines, Australia, American Samoa, Tahiti, and, starting in January 2011, South Korea. Hawaiian also provides more than 150 daily jet flights between the Hawaiian Islands.

Hawaiian Airlines, Inc. is a subsidiary of Hawaiian Holdings, Inc.

:applause:

Source:http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific_business/view/1095967/1/.html

Qantas flight grounded due to wiring problem
Posted: 28 November 2010 0855 hrs

SYDNEY - Qantas grounded a Boeing 747 overnight because of a wiring malfunction, the Australian airline said Sunday, the latest incident to hit the carrier since a mid-air engine blast earlier this month.

The London-bound flight was cancelled late on Saturday after the pilot experienced "an issue with one of the engines" before take-off, a Qantas spokesman said.

"It turned out to be a wiring issue," he said, adding that the malfunction affected the system which supports the engine.

Reports said passengers heard a loud noise as the plane was taxiing towards the runway at Sydney airport. Engineers worked on the aircraft overnight and it departed for London early Sunday.

"It was unfortunate timing for a number of reasons but it is not a major issue," the spokesman said of the incident.

The hitch came just hours after Qantas put its first Airbus A380 back in the air after grounding its six superjumbos for three weeks after one experienced an engine explosion on November 4.

That blast, which shattered parts of the turbine and damaged the plane's wing, forced an emergency landing in Singapore and saw the airline put the world's biggest passenger jets through intensive safety checks.

These resulted in Qantas, which uses the superjumbos on long-haul routes to London and Los Angeles, replacing some of the A380s' Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines.

Airline chief executive Alan Joyce, who was on the Sydney to Singapore leg of the first A380 to resume flying on Saturday, said the company was now "100 percent comfortable" with the safety of the giant planes.

Only two of Qantas' A380s will initially return to service, with the airline taking delivery of two new superjumbos before the year's end and another two in early 2011.

Qantas, which has never suffered a fatal crash in the jet age, has voluntarily barred the A380s from operating on trans-Pacific flights to Los Angeles because of the extra engine thrust required.

- AFP/ir

Qantas will maintain safety rep: Joyce
AAP
Sunday 28 November 2010

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce has dampened suggestions of a safety problem at the airline, after engine trouble grounded another Qantas aircraft.

Mr Joyce also played down the sacking of a Jetstar pilot who raised concerns about cost-cutting measures at the airline, saying a major airline union is using safety as a bargaining card for industrial relations.

He said a recent series of highly publicised incidents involving Qantas aircraft have for the most part been everyday occurrences.

"The issue that started all of this was the issue on the A380, which involved a very serious failure on a Rolls-Royce engine," Mr Joyce told ABC's Inside Business program on Sunday.

"It was a new engine and it was absolutely clearly nothing to do with anything Qantas was doing.

"The other issues that have occurred happen in the aviation industry every day ... last week there were a couple of turn-backs I think that got a lot of reporting."

His comments came just half an hour after the latest Qantas plane to suffer engine trouble returned to the air at 9.30am (AEDT) on Sunday, after a "minor wiring issue" was resolved.

Passengers were pulled off the London-bound QF1 747 on Saturday night, when a loud noise emanated from the engine before take-off.

Mr Joyce said Jetstar pilot Joe Eakins, who lost his job this month, broke the airline's code of conduct and left Jetstar management with no option but to terminate his employment.

"In this case the pilot in question didn't raise safety concerns - he raised issues that are industrial relations issues related to employment in Singapore and relating to progression within the organisation," Mr Joyce said.

While employed with Jetstar, Mr Eakins wrote an opinion piece in Fairfax media raising concerns that the airline's safety culture could be "obliterated if the offshoring push continues".

Mr Joyce said pilots flying for Jetstar Asia, based in Singapore, were "paid quite well", so there was no concern that lowerwages would lead to safety problems.

Mr Joyce said the union backing Mr Eakins wanted to play "the safety card for industrial relations" purposes.

"It's purely that yet again," he said. "It is outrageous that they keep doing this."

Mr Joyce defended Qantas's reputation for safety, saying the airline's handling of the A380 crisis would prove positive in the long run.

"The compliments that we're getting on how Qantas handled it, how our pilots handled it, our cabin crew handled it, how the organisation handled it, I think will actually do our brand really good in the medium to long term."

Qantas Defends Safety Record As A380s Resume Flights
28 November 2010

CANBERRA (Dow Jones)--Qantas Ltd. (QAN.AU) Chief Executive Alan Joyce Sunday defended the airline's handling of a string of recent incidents, notably an engine explosion on an Airbus A380 superjumbo earlier this month, as another aircraft was grounded overnight.

Qantas Saturday resumed limited A380 services for the first time since the Nov. 4 explosion forced Qantas to make an emergency landing in Singapore.

The safe departure from Sydney Saturday of A380 Flight QF31 bound for London via Singapore was marred by engine issues that grounded a separate Qantas flight, this time a Boeing Co. 747 aircraft.

That flight, QF1, also scheduled to fly from Sydney to London via Bangkok was delayed after an engine issue was detected while it was taxiing to the runway, a Qantas spokesman said Sunday.

The aircraft returned to the terminal and because there wasn't time to fix the issue--a wiring fault--before Sydney Airport's 11 p.m. curfew, passengers were accommodated in hotels overnight. The 747, carrying 351 passengers, departed at 9.44 a.m. Sunday (2244 GMT) the spokesman said.

The A380's lift off Saturday had been designed as something of a public-relations exercise for Qantas, with Joyce joining passengers on the Singapore leg to demonstrate his confidence in the aircraft. That flight is still on its way from Singapore to London, and is scheduled to land at 6.05 a.m. London time.

Joyce said Qantas's cautious response to the A380 incident--grounding its entire fleet of six for over three weeks--is being viewed positively by many customers.

"These issues...demonstrate a strong positive safety culture, because when we found out a problem with an engine that had a design issue, we grounded the fleet until we knew how we could fix the issue," Joyce said on Australian Broadcasting Corp. television. "I think it'll actually do our brand really good in the medium-to-long-term."

Still, a series of in-air incidents and groundings in recent weeks isn't helping the carrier's share price, which is down some 7% since Nov. 4. The shares closed steady Friday at A$2.67.

Joyce reiterated Sunday it is too early to estimate the cost of the disruptions. But Qantas may seek compensation from Rolls Royce Group PLC (RYCEY, RR.LN), maker of the faulty A380 engine.

Qantas puts freight plans on back burner
29 November 2010
The Sydney Morning Herald

QANTAS is likely to delay the outcome of a review of its two freight ventures with Australia Post until early next year, as corporate filings show earnings at one of the companies were weaker than expected.

The joint-venture partners were due to unveil a new structure for Star Track Express and Australian Air Express, which employ almost 5000 people between them, last month.

But the owners remain in discussions about the best structure for the poorly performing freight businesses and are not expected to reach an outcome until February.

Macquarie Equities and Citi analysts have said that it is likely the joint ventures will be merged to reduce back-office costs. But it is believed Qantas and Australia Post favour operating the 50:50 joint ventures separately under a holding company arrangement.

Qantas would not divulge the joint ventures' bottom-line results for the year when it released its own earnings in August, other than to say they "haven't moved substantially".

But corporate filings now show that profit at Star Track Express fell 33 per cent to $12.5 million for the year to June 30. It is also considerably less than its $26 million profit in 2007-08.

Star Track Express, Qantas's most celebrated acquisition in the past decade, paid a total dividend of $20 million which was split between Qantas and Australia Post.

Other filings to the corporate regulator show that Australian Air Express made a profit of $13.3 million for the year to June, a big improvement on $119,000 in 2008-09.

However, it appears that the increase in earnings was achieved through cost reduction given that total revenue at Australian Air Express fell 5 per cent to $534 million. The result is also much less than the profit of $17.6 million in 2008-07, or the $30.2 million achieved in 2006-07.

Last week its workforce secured wages rises of between 14 and 21 per cent over the next three years.

Its fleet includes four 737-300s, three BAe-146 jets and smaller turboprops. It uses the belly space in Qantas and Jetstar planes to offer a door-to-door delivery service.

In late 2006 the company, which has a workforce of 1242, began moving from 727 freighters to the more fuel-efficient 737s, which it leases from a Qantas subsidiary. The joint ventures do not include Qantas's mainline freight operation, which mainly consists of selling the belly space in its jets.

In June this year Qantas appeared to have abandoned plans to become a significant player in the Asia-Pacific air freight market after it sold a business it once dubbed a "great building block for expansion and growth". The sale of DPEX Worldwide to Toll Holdings also raised expectations Qantas could sell its half stakes in AAE and Star Track Express to Australia Post.

But two months later Qantas and Australia Post confirmed that they would remain partners in the freight joint ventures. Some insiders, however, still do not see Qantas as a long-term shareholder in Star Track Express.

Qantas also has other loose ends to tie up including the planned sale of its 46 per cent stake in Fiji's national flag carrier, Air Pacific.

QANTAS BOEING 737 Grounded plane had earlier fault
30 November 2010
The Advertiser

A Qantas aircraft grounded with an engine-related issue in Adelaide yesterday is the same Boeing 737 that had an engine ``flare'' in Melbourne on Sunday night, delaying its flight to Adelaide.

Yesterday, a fault with an engine valve was found on the plane that was to have operated QF738 at 9.30am from Adelaide to Sydney.

Passengers were first told there would be a delay then at about 11am that the flight was cancelled.

A Qantas spokesman said the explanation for yesterday's cancellation was ``technically complex'' but it concerned an engine valve that affected engine efficiency and was not related to Sunday night's delay.

AUST AIRPORT OWNERS' MAJOR DEV'T PROPOSALS UP FOR MORE SCRUTINY

CANBERRA, Nov 29 Asia Pulse - Australia's airport owners will have to consult more broadly when planning major developments, including runway upgrades.

Parliament has passed laws that require the owners of all major airports, including Sydney and Brisbane, undertake public consultation on any proposed building or expansion.

That includes runway alterations that would significantly change flight paths or aircraft noise arrangements.

Certain types of non-aviation developments, including residential space, also will be prohibited.

Transport Minister Anthony Albanese says commonwealth-leased airports must exist primarily for aviation purposes.

"And we are serious about giving greater voice to local communities over airport planning," he said.

The House of Representatives on Monday supported a version of the Airports Amendment Bill 2010, amended by the Senate last week.

Handlers go slow on Qantas bags
1 December 2010
The Age

QANTAS baggage handlers are planning a "go-slow" over Christmas in protest at new rules likely to result in heavier luggage.

The national carrier has quietly changed its luggage policy so that, from June next year, domestic passengers will be allowed only one check-in bag rather than spreading the load. The new rules apply to those buying tickets from today.

The Transport Workers Union says the rules will force people to pack one heavy bag, making life difficult for older passengers and increasing injuries for baggage handlers.

"We will work as slow as necessary to make sure every time we shift a bag it is 100 per cent safe with absolutely no risk of injury," said one handler. The TWU has backed the go-slow.

Qantas said most passengers already travelled with one piece of luggage well under the maximum weight.

Source:http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1096800/1/.html

Australian probe pinpoints "critical" issue with A380 engine
Posted: 02 December 2010 1126 hrs

SYDNEY: Australian officials probing a Qantas A380 engine blast last month reported a "critical safety issue" with the Rolls-Royce unit on Thursday that they said could lead to "catastrophic engine failure".

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau said a misaligned component had thinned the wall of an oil pipe in the exploded engine, causing "fatigue cracking" that prompted leakage and a fire "central to the engine failure".

"This condition could lead to an elevated risk of fatigue crack initiation and growth, oil leakage and potential catastrophic engine failure from a resulting oil fire," the ATSB said, noting it was "understood to be related to the manufacturing process."

The Bureau issued a directive urging Rolls-Royce to "address the safety issue and take actions necessary to ensure the safety of flight operations in transport aircraft equipped with Rolls-Royce Trent 900 series engines."

Qantas said it would immediately conduct further engine investigations as a result of the findings, but stressed it was just a precautionary measure and "there is no immediate risk to flight safety."

"Qantas currently has two A380 aircraft in operational service, following the grounding of the fleet on 4 November. Both A380 aircraft will be inspected at the Qantas Jet Base in Sydney," the airline said.

"Inspections will commence this afternoon."

The flagship carrier said it would determine whether further action would need to be taken after inspections were complete and it had consulted both Rolls-Royce and regulators.

"Qantas does not anticipate at this stage that the inspections will have an impact on international services. However contingency arrangements will be in place, if needed," it said.

The findings come just five days after Qantas resumed A380 flights, though the carrier has barred the superjumbo from trans-Pacific trips to Los Angeles due to the extra engine thrust required.

It had grounded all six of its Airbus superjumbos after the November 4 blast over the Indonesian island of Batam, which forced an A380 to return to Singapore airport trailing smoke.

Checks revealed problems with 16 of the total 24 Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engines powering Qantas's A380s -- four per plane -- meaning the turbines would have to be replaced or modified.

Qantas chief Alan Joyce on Saturday said he was "100 percent comfortable" with the A380s' operation.

Australia's national carrier has never suffered a fatal crash in the jet age.

-AFP/ac

look at this
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WEfddTCfyT0

Qantas managers head for the exit
13 December 2010
The Sydney Morning Herald

QANTAS is suffering the loss of a growing number of highly experienced senior managers who have formed the brains of its international operations for decades.

After more than 42 years in various senior roles at Qantas, Roger Lindeman's defection to Virgin Blue takes the number of senior managers to leave Australia's largest airline in recent months to at least seven.

Mr Lindeman, who was regarded as Qantas's most experienced executive in airport operations, will become Virgin Blue's head of service experience, which includes oversight of airport lounges. Virgin Blue has been trying to grab a bigger share of the lucrative corporate travel market from Qantas.

The turnover in senior managers at Qantas, many of whom have 20 or 30 years of service, has intensified over the past year and is seen as a blow to its key long-haul operations.

Others to depart include Hope Antzoulastos, the head of network for domestic and international operations, who resigned shortly after she was reassigned to a project role. Insiders describe the resignation of the 23-year Qantas veteran as significant because of her specialist knowledge in scheduling.

Mr Lindeman's departure also follows the resignation of Peter McLaughlin, most recently general manager of Northern California and Western USA. He is a former Qantas general manager of NSW, which is regarded as one of the more crucial management roles.

Judith Crompton, the regional general manager for Britain and Ireland, which included oversight of Qantas's operations at London's Heathrow Airport, also left in September to join the Middle Eastern airline Etihad as the head of global accounts sales. She is also a former regional general manager for NSW.

In what is regarded as a retaliatory move, Qantas has poached Virgin Blue's former head of government relations, Tony Wheelens. He left the airline on Friday to become a government relations manager at Qantas, reporting to Rob Wood, the head of government and international relations.

His appointment comes several months after Virgin Blue poached two other Qantas executives, Will Owens and Jane McKeon, as the heads of government relations and yield management respectively.

David Epstein, Qantas's chief spin doctor and government relations boss, will also leave this month after two years at the airline to take up a role as the head of public affairs at BHP Billiton.

The recent departures follow a big overhaul of Qantas's senior management six months after Alan Joyce took the reins in late 2008, including the axing of 90 senior management roles.

Mr Joyce is regarded as having a preference for changing the roles of individual managers frequently instead of clocking up years of experience in specialist positions.

"Alan is very keen on the fact that when he was at [the Irish airline] Aer Lingus he was moved through all different areas," one said.

But the former boss of Jetstar is also seen as being sensitive to not installing too many of his former managers at that low-cost airline in some of the top roles at its full-service parent, Qantas.

Oh my. I hope new managers don't take it to bankrupt

Virgin Blue Pact Approved in Blow to Qantas
16 December 2010
The Wall Street Journal Online

SYDNEY — Australia's competition watchdog on Thursday approved with conditions Virgin Blue Holdings Ltd.'s alliance with Air New Zealand Ltd., reversing an earlier decision to block the deal and hurting the share price of competitor Qantas Airways Ltd.

The regulator's call means that two out of three international alliances proposed by Virgin Blue's new chief executive, John Borghetti, have a green light. An arrangement with Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways that received interim approval this year was also granted draft approval Thursday by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission.

Australia's second-biggest carrier by traffic and market capitalization recently hired Mr. Borghetti, a long-serving Qantas executive, as it attempts to wrest market share from its larger rival by expanding its international offering and attracting more business travelers.

Qantas is Virgin Blue's biggest competitor on the route between Australia and New Zealand and had objected to fast regulatory approval of the Etihad deal. Its shares fell 2.6% Thursday as Virgin Blue shares jumped 5.9%.

"It's an uplift for Virgin Blue but at the same time it means more competitive pressures on Qantas," said Jamie Spiteri, head of trading at Shaw Stockbroking. "Qantas is a victim of its long-term success in having such a previously strong market share."

A Qantas spokeswoman said that New Zealand is an important destination for the company. "But with our two-branded strategy, being Qantas and Jetstar, our strong network and schedule and our competitive prices, Qantas is well placed on the trans-Tasman route," she said. Qantas's low-cost offshoot, Jetstar, also flies over the Tasman Sea to New Zealand.

The Australian regulator has also approved an alliance between Virgin Blue and U.S.-based Delta Air Lines Inc., but U.S. counterparts rejected the deal in a draft decision. The U.S. Department of Transportation is expected to make its final call in February. Australian government officials in October formally asked U.S. officials to consider reversing their decision.

Alliances between carriers involve coordinating pricing, schedules and capacity, sparking competition concerns on routes with a limited number of players.

Competition on the trans-Tasman route is fierce, with "no-one making a quid," Australian Tourism Minister Martin Ferguson told Dow Jones Newswires in September.

The ACCC rarely reverses draft decisions, but after listening to feedback from Virgin Blue, Air New Zealand and others, it authorized the pact for three years, after which time it will conduct another review. The airlines will be required to maintain and grow seat numbers on routes where the ACCC has identified competition issues, particularly routes involving Wellington. The conditions are intended to restrict the ability of the alliance to raise fares on these routes by limiting capacity, the regulator said.

"The ACCC considers that the alliance is likely to benefit passengers in a number of ways, including more choice of routes and frequencies, and potentially lower fares as a result of cost savings and efficiency improvements," ACCC Chairman Graeme Samuel said in a statement.

Air New Zealand Chief Executive Officer Rob Fyfe said the decision favors customers and will help the trans-Tasman market continue to grow.

Richard Branson's Virgin Group owns 26% of Virgin Blue.

Star Alliance trains sights on Aussie airline
17 December 2010
The Australian

AUSTRALIA remains a ``white spot'' and an important market for the Star Alliance, the head of the giant airline group said this week.

Star chief executive Jaan Albrecht said the alliance had been exploring opportunities in Australia and was watching Virgin Blue's shift from being a low-cost carrier to become more compatible with network carriers.

Mr Albrecht said any initiative to bring another carrier into the fold would be led by Air New Zealand. ``So we, Star, would follow and listen very carefully (to) any recommendations that would come originally from the prime carrier in this part of the world, which again is Air New Zealand.''

The comments came as Virgin chief executive John Borghetti mixed with Star Alliance executives in Queenstown, New Zealand, and would not rule out joining the giant alliance.

Mr Borghetti said Virgin Blue was looking at all possibilities but would not comment further.

However, the decision by the Australian competition regulator to give a conditional green light to the airline's alliance with Air NZ brings the possibility a step closer.

Star sees membership growth as a key asset and is adding airlines. It began with five members and now boasts 31, offering more than 21,200 daily flights to 1172 airports in 181 countries.

This year it added Greece's Aegean Airlines and Brazil's TAM Airlines. It has accepted Ethiopian Airlines as well as Latin America's Avianca-TACA and Copa Airlines as future members and is attempting to woo LAN Chile from rival OneWorld network.

``The global reach that Star has been able to build over the last 14 years is one of our key advantages compared to any other alliance group,'' Mr Albrecht said at the NZ conference.

The Star chief said the alliance remained viable despite the consolidation that was beginning throughout the industry, much of it involving its members.

Steve Creedy travelled to New Zealand courtesy of Air New Zealand and Star Alliance.

Chinese flyers on rise
AAP
21 December 2010

THE number of international travellers passing through Melbourne Airport rose almost 10 per cent last year, driven largely by Asian passengers.

A total of 38,700 Chinese passport holders -- a rise of 26.7 per cent -- surpassed the number of visitors from the traditional British market, Melbourne Airport chief Chris Woodruff said.

``With three airlines -- Air China, China Eastern and China Southern -- now flying daily direct services between Melbourne and China for the first time, the potential of China to become Melbourne's major tourism market is becoming more and more apparent,'' he explained.

Mr Woodruff said the Chinese market was expected to continue to grow.

Japanese passport holders were up 51.6 per cent, South Korea up 36.3 per cent and Malaysia up 18.7 per cent.

More than 43,000 international passengers passed through Melbourne Airport in November than the same time last year.

Overall passenger numbers at the airport increased by 7.4 per cent for the month.

United says too many seats on US route

SYDNEY, Dec 16 AAP - United Airlines says it is committed to the Australian market despite suffering as recent new entrants added capacity on the trans-Pacific route.

United Airlines worldwide chief executive Jeff Smisek says the four carriers now battling it out over the Pacific are doing it tough.

He says there are too many seats and fares make it difficult to achieve a profit.

"This market is clearly unstable, there's far too much capacity for anybody to make money on this route today," Mr Smisek said in an interview in Sydney on Thursday.

United was one of two operators on the route alongside Qantas Airways for a long time.

However, two additional competitors in Virgin Blue's long-haul offshoot V Australia and Delta Air Lines have entered the fray in recent years.

"The route has historically been a good route for United, yes, but obviously with the level of capacity we have today it's tough slugging for everybody I'm sure," Mr Smisek said.

"We don't comment on route by route analysis, but I generally don't say tough slugging if we're raking it in."

US Department of Transportion figures showed that capacity between Australia and the US rose 19.3 per cent in December 2009 compared with the same month a year earlier.

United flies to Melbourne and Sydney from Los Angeles and San Francisco. During the Christmas-New Year period, it is operating double-daily services.

United is the world's largest airline - formed after the merger of United and Continental.

Mr Smisek said United has had a presence in Australia for more than two decades and was committed to the market.

"United has been flying this route for 25 years, we have a lot of corporate customers, we have a lot of travel agency partners, we have a lot of contacts, we have a lot of knowledge of the people," Mr Smisek said.

"That brings enormous staying power to United in this market."

Mr Smisek was speaking at a National Aviation Press Club lunch in Sydney on Thursday.

During his speech, he flagged an improvement in the airline's product to Australia - economy class passengers on United's Boeing 747 aircraft to Australia do not have personalised entertainment systems.

He also suggested United's partnership with Japan-based All Nippon Airways, announced recently, could result in more flights to Australia .

"I would expect that you are going to see as a result of the formation of that joint-venture additional routes and additional flight opportunities, including some flight opportunities hopefully out of Australia," he said.

He said talk show host Oprah Winfrey's recent trip to Australia, when she filmed two shows in front of 6,000 people at the Sydney Opera House and spoke glowingly of the country, would stimulate US travellers to head Down Under.

"I think it was a clever strategy and I hope it pays off for Australia," he said.

Qantas wants its image to take off
27 December 2010
The Australian

The carrier hopes for better times after a tough year

TOPPING the list of Alan Joyce's New Year's resolutions -- as he battles Virgin Blue for the corporate customers and defends the airline's 65 per cent ``line in the sand'' domestic market share -- is a plan to get more people to say positive things about Qantas.

The airline has been working on a measure called the net promoter score (NPS): the difference between ``advocates'' who actively talk up the airline and ``detractors'' talking about bad experiences.

Joyce says that, despite the dramatic events of the past year, Qantas has a positive NPS, but he will enter the new year looking for ways to improve the score.

``We've been working with our people in terms of the customer-facing delivery (and) on the hard product, and asking how can we dramatically improve the net promoter scores for the organisation over the next few years,'' he says. `` It's something that the whole organisation is getting behind and I think it will make a good difference.''

It has been a torrid year for Qantas with executives trapped in Vietnam, volcanic ash clouds that closed down European airspace and an exploding engine that grounded the airline's A380 superjumbos.

After weathering the global financial crisis and swine flu, the Qantas boss ended his first full year in the top job thinking the worst was over.

But he wasn't far into 2010 before he was regularly recalling a phrase coined by predecessor Geoff Dixon: ``constant shock syndrome''.

`` I thought, this is going to get easier, that the worst is over with -- it can't get any worse than that,'' he says. ``And then 2010 (had) a lot more challenges in it than even 2009.''

Freezing weather in Europe means the year appears to be ending as dramatically as it began. Qantas entered the year with a concerted effort to get executives seconded to Jetstar Pacific released from Vietnam, after that country's government took exception to the low-cost carrier's fuel hedging policies.

It would be June before the issue was resolved, after a herculean effort that sucked up management time.

In the meantime, a volcano with a barely pronounceable name had exploded in Iceland and grounded flights throughout Europe. The disaster would strand thousands of Qantas passengers and end up costing the airline $46 million.

As befits an Irishman, Joyce finds a silver lining even in a volcanic cloud.

He says the crisis showed the organisation at its best and gave its state-of-the-art crisis centre in Sydney its first workout.

``We've been practising three or four times a year and the volcano was probably the first time all those new processes kicked into place for a real exercise,'' he says. ``It works very well.

``How the company managed its way through (the volcano crisis) was a real credit to it, and the feedback from passengers, and the positive impact it had on our reputation, was actually quite good.''

Unfortunately, that workout was not the crisis centre's last for the year.

On November 4, a design fault in a Roll-Royce Trent 900 engine started an oil fire that would result in the spectacular disintegration of a turbine disc in the No 2 engine of a Qantas A380 heading out from Singapore.

The first major incident on an A380, it would attract world headlines and cause substantial damage to the plane.

The incident, the second uncontained engine failure on a Qantas jet in a few months, would overshadow the airline's 90th birthday celebrations and prompt a frenzy of negative media coverage highlighting every glitch in the airline's operations. It came as the airline and unions were wrestling with enterprise bargaining negotiations in a fractious environment, with pilots and mechanics campaigning against offshoring and ground staff worried about the effect of new technology.

Joyce tackled the issues head on, a strategy that has gained him kudos, and says he is happy with the way Qantas has ended the year. ``There are some supposed brand experts that are saying the `Rainman' effect is over and the Qantas brand is dead,'' he says, refering to favourable comments in the famous Dustin Hoffman movie. The brand is very robust and anybody who looks at Qantas knows that.

``Our brand research has actually shown that the brand hasn't taken a hit to the extent people are talking about. There will be some short-term issues around, but some of the comparisons are actually the best they've been.''

And, the Qantas chief notes, it wasn't all bad news. He points to the continued rollout of new products -- new lounges and hi-tech check-in facilities as well as a burgeoning frequent flyer program on track to reach 8 million members.

Jetsar's continued growth and record profitability was also a big story for the year, he says.

``Jetstar Asia -- now that we have a structure that works -- is going through its second year of over 40 per cent growth and digesting that growth very well.

``Jetstar is expanding its international long-haul services again, which I think is really good for that business.''

The group's financial situation also continues to improve.

Business traffic is returning and has boosted Qantas from the third most profitable domestic carrier to the the top spot as yields have improved throughout the year.

And if Joyce is worried about the threat posed by Virgin Blue under former colleague John Borghetti, he is not admitting it.

He says Qantas still commands 87 per cent of the domestic corporate market and has maintained that position during the year, losing the AFL to Virgin but gaining customers Boral and Eli Lilly.

The airline is also making good progress with small to medium enterprises and taking back share in that category.

Ultimately, Joyce believes that possession is nine-tenths of the law and the airline's service, extensive network, fleet of 30 widebody aircraft and frequent flyer program will keep its corporate customers loyal.

He says the investment in products -- including more than $70m spent on lounges and tens of millions on check-in facilities -- leaves Qantas ``light years ahead of the opposition'' and he argues they will have to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to catch up.

``We're very confident in our strategy for the corporate market and what we're doing,'' he says. ``I've always had this view that if Qantas plays its best game, it doesn't matter what the competition's doing, we're going to keep the corporate market.''

The picture is a little less clear in the leisure market, which is suffering from too much capacity. Joyce again points to Jetstar's success in this sector as well as outbound international in Asia and New Zealand.

``So, while there is a lot of discounting in the leisure end in the domestic market, Jetstar is becoming a portfolio of operations and it's been able to handle that quite well,'' he says.

Internationally, the airline is seeing an improvement through a mix of business, premium economy and first-class travellers.

Joyce sees good growth in both the domestic and overseas markets in the coming year, with the Asia-Pacific the big growth vehicle and international operations benefiting from the resumed rollout of the A380s.

``We would be rapidly getting our fleet back up in terms of the A380s, which will add capacity to the North American and the UK markets,'' he says. ``We believe that the prospects for both of those markets will be good into the medium to long term. I think a lot of people now are seeing very positive indicators coming out of the US market, so it's a market we want to be ready for us to grow again.''

In Asia, the focus will continue to be on China. ``China and Hong Kong are going well. Japan's going well,'' Joyce says. ``We've seen growth in the Japanese market for the Qantas brand for the first time in 10 years and we're looking at what we can do in terms of further growth opportunities for Qantas in this region.''

Qantas has also added a new string to its bow -- West Australian fly in, fly out operation Network Aviation -- and Joyce sees strong growth in this area. He says this will not just be in Western Australia and has flagged it will tie in with the group's overall corporate strategy.

Wider issues the Qantas boss sees as paramount in the coming year include the cost of carbon and the return of the skills shortage. A member of the federal government's business roundtable on climate change, he says Qantas supports the need to reduce carbon emissions and is spending significant sums to reduce its carbon footprint.

But he says knowing the price of carbon is key to decisions on capital investments. ``You do need to understand on what basis you're making those investments and I think a lot of industries are calling out for certainty on this.''

Also important is understanding what other investments and technology are needed.

For the aviation industry, Joyce says, this means long-term projects involving public-private partnerships and focusing on sustainable aviation fuels and air traffic management. ``I don't think the private sector on its own is going to be able to make these things happen.''

He sees low unemployment levels as a double-edged sword for Qantas. They mean people are confident enough to travel but also create a skills shortage. ``Back in 2007-08 we were finding it tough in certain segments getting people,'' he says ``And I think we all need to be conscious of this and how we make sure we keep pace with the economic growth.''

Qantas Close To Bio-Fuel Plant Deal - Report
3 January 2011
DOW JONES

Australian airline Qantas Airways Ltd (QA.AU) will this month announce a deal to build the world's second commercial-scale plant to produce green biojet fuel made from waste for its fleet of aircraft, The Guardian reports Monday, without citing specific sources.

Its proposed partner, U.S.-based fuel producer Solena Group , is also in negotiations with easyJet PLC (EZJ.LN), Ryanair Holdings PLC (RYAAY) and Aer Lingus Group PLC (AERL.LN), about building a plant in Dublin, although this project is less advanced, the Guardian said.

Airlines are trying to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels ahead of their entry into the EU's carbon emissions trading scheme in January 2012, and the introduction of other new environmental legislation, The Guardian said. Under the scheme, any airline flying in or out of the EU must cut emissions or pay a penalty, newspaper said.

Solena's joint venture with Qantas--which could be announced within the next fortnight--follows a tie-up with British Airways (BAY.LN), signed in February last year, to build the world's first commercial-scale biojet fuel plant in London, creating up to 1,200 jobs, The Guardian said.

Newspaper Web site: http://guardian.co.uk

Stranded on the tarmac
22 January 2011
The Sydney Morning Herald

As airline belts tighten, extreme weather events mean even longer passenger delays, writes Clive Dorman.

The good news is that Australia has fewer flight disruptions because of inclement weather than the northern hemisphere. The bad news is that Australians are as likely as anyone else in the world to suffer mind-numbing disruptions that last weeks as a result of bad weather and other natural events such as volcanic eruptions.

That's because Australian airlines have been at least as aggressive as airlines in the US and Europe in pushing "load factors" (the percentage of seats filled) to new highs. As a result, airlines have never had less wriggle room in recovering from major disruptions such as last year's volcanic eruption in Iceland or the Christmas snowstorms in the US and Europe.

Once, airlines could break even with load factors of about 65 per cent. Now, as average fares paid by consumers continue to fall, that figure is approaching 80 per cent for many carriers. Airline accountants will no longer accept planes that are, on average, less than 80 per cent full - about 10 percentage points more than a decade ago.

The inevitable result is that disruption from weather events, such as the pre-Christmas shutdown at London's Heathrow airport and the New Year's white-out in New York, is likely to last for weeks, not days.

At least during the flooding of coastal Queensland and the closure of Rockhampton airport, the backlog of passengers could be cleared relatively quickly as the airlines were able to operate around the clock, unhindered by curfews such as those in Sydney and Adelaide.

But with airline load factors around the world soaring above 80 per cent, peak-season weather disruptions in the northern hemisphere's big cities have proved a nightmare. Flights are so full and scheduled so tightly that there is no room for quick recovery when airports are closed, industry analysts told a Bloomberg news agency.

"When your planes are all 90 per cent full [in peak holiday season] and you cancel a flight, it's going to take you another 10 flights to re-accommodate all those passengers," a Washington aviation industry consultant, Darryl Jenkins, says.

US carriers are now more determined than ever to prevent financial shocks from the various meltdowns of the past decade. There are now 10 per cent fewer seats in the US airline system than in 2000, as airlines have tightened their belts.

"Ultimately, the benefits from lower capacity are far, far more beneficial to the airlines than the impact of not being able to accommodate a few more passengers in a fluke event like [the December blizzard]," an analyst for the Baltimore-based firm Stifel Nicolaus, Hunter Keay, told Reuters.

Even though the global recession didn't affect Australia dramatically and air travel continues to grow by more than 5 per cent a year, planes were 80.6 per cent full in the year to June and 81.9 per cent full in October last year.

Qantas has only just finished clearing the backlog from the pre-Christmas meltdown at Heathrow, which has been blamed on the airport's unwillingness to spend enough on snow-clearing equipment.

In November - the last month of the pre-holiday "low" season - Qantas's worldwide system was operating 81.6 per cent full and its subsidiary Jetstar 83 per cent full, which means travellers will often encounter flights that are sold out.

The airlines are signalling that this is the way of the future.

Chinese arrivals lift Sydney Airport profit
21 January 2011
Daily Telegraph

SYDNEY Airport's owner announced yesterday that its $773.3 million earnings were a 12 per cent increase in unaudited consolidated earnings for the full year before interest, tax, debt and amortisation.

MAp CEO Kerrie Mather welcomed ``increases across all revenue streams and strong traffic growth.'' Some 11.391 million international passengers passed through the terminal last year, up 37.1 per cent since 2003. This was forecast to reach 20 million by 2020 and 30 million by 2029.

Sydney hosts 44 per cent of Australia's international passengers and 38 airlines at the international terminal.

China, Korea and Japan inbound passenger numbers were strong. ``Chinese arrivals into Sydney nearly doubled from 147,148 in 2004 to 282,641 in 2010,'' Sydney Airport CEO Russell Balding said.

Hainan Airlines' first A330 Sydney flight landed yesterday.

``NSW is home to about 55 per cent of Australia's Chinese-born people,'' Mr Balding said.

Nothing wrong with flying old jets if they're properly serviced but shows yet again the pitfalls of being a guinea pig for a new aircraft type.

Ageing jets to fly on
20 January 2011
Herald-Sun

QANTAS will be forced to keep its fleet of ageing Boeing 767 jets in service until late next year with yet another delay to deliveries of the much-troubled 787 Dreamliner.

The 767s, some of them built more than 20 years ago, were to have been pensioned off three years ago.

Qantas had planned to hand the first 15 787s to budget offshoot Jetstar and take back its modern Airbus A330s as 767 replacements.

But all of that went awry when assembly issues, parts problems and a more recent problem with the 787's electrics left airlines that ordered the jet in limbo.

Qantas has leased additional A330s to ensure Jetstar is able to meet its plans to expand long-haul services to North Asia.

A Qantas spokeswoman said yesterday the latest delay meant that Jetstar would wait a further six months to receive its first 787, which sources suggest is to be used to launch cut-price services to Athens and Rome. The first 787 to enter commercial service was expected to be delived to Japan's All Nippon Airways late this year, Boeing said yesterday.

The revised delivery schedule allows Boeing more time to install and certify design changes to the aircraft following a fire on a test aircraft last November.

The latest delay is the seventh involving the aircraft.

The plane-maker said the new schedule included the time required to produce, install and test updated software and new electrical power distribution panels in the flight-test and production aircraft.

The head of the 787 program, Scott Fancher, said the revised timeline accommodated the work to be done to complete testing and certification.

Because of the delays, Malaysia's cut-price carrier, AirAsia X, has stolen a march on Jetstar on introducing cheap flights to Europe.

AirAsia X already flies to England and recently launched four weekly low-fare flights to Paris, its second European destination after London.

Jetstar Group chief executive Bruce Buchanan said the airline was looking at regional growth opportunities and new services from bases in Singapore, Australia, New Zealand and Vietnam before entering the US and European markets.

Source:http://news.xin.msn.com/en/regional/article.aspx?cp-documentid=4602933

By Agence France-Presse, Updated: 26/01/2011
Qantas plane forced to land in Bangkok: official

A Qantas Boeing 747 suffering mid-air mechanical trouble was forced to land in Bangkok, a Thai official said Wednesday, in the latest of a string of problems for the Australian airline.

The Sydney-bound flight developed difficulties on Tuesday evening soon after taking off from the Thai capital and returned just after 7:00 pm (1200 GMT), said Somchai Thean-Anant of Thailand's air traffic control.

Reporting from Sydney, the Australian Associated Press said the plane was carrying 352 passengers, and quoted a Qantas spokesman as denying that the airline was suffering from systemic maintenance problems.

Also on Tuesday, a Qantas Boeing 737-400 carrying 99 passengers lost cabin pressure mid-flight en route from Adelaide to Melbourne, prompting the pilot to dive 8,000 metres (26,000 feet) and panicking passengers.

Qantas has endured a dramatic few months. In November it temporarily suspended flights of its Airbus A380 superjumbos after an engine on one exploded after taking off from Singapore, damaging the plane.

Last week a Qantas flight bound for New York made an unscheduled stop in Fiji after the Boeing 747 developed a problem with a fuel valve supplying one of its engines.

Hundreds stranded by Qantas engine trouble
27 January 2011
The Australian

MORE than 350 Qantas passengers were unable to call Australia home yesterday after their jumbo jet was grounded in Bangkok due to an engine problem.

A Boeing 747-400 operating QF2 from London to Sydney returned to Bangkok on Tuesday night after flight crew noticed the No 1 engine was using too much fuel after the plane had levelled off from the climb.

The decision to return to Bangkok and check the engine meant passengers spent Australia Day in the city's hotels.

``We're still trying to get to the bottom of it but it looks like some kind of internal oil leak in the engine,'' Qantas spokesman Tom Woodward said yesterday.

Qantas last night sent a replacement aircraft, carrying a spare engine, to pick up the 352 passengers and they were expected to depart early today. Mr Woodward conceded the passengers had faced a hefty delay and said missing Australia Day ``is obviously frustrating for all concerned''.

But he did not believe the engine failure was linked to a string of other engine problems experienced on Qantas jumbo jets in the past year.

The problems involving Rolls-Royce RB211 engines powering the 747s range from a rare uncontained failure near San Francisco last year to an engine which ``cooked'' itself on departure from Sydney earlier this month.

Mr Woodward said in this case the engine had not suddenly failed but had not performed as it should by consuming fuel at a much faster rate than normal.

``In my memory, I don't think we've had this sort of issue, certainly in the past year or so.'' he said.

``Obviously we'll be trying to get to the bottom of it.''

Virgin confident given Navitaire's credentials
27 January 2011
The Age

VIRGIN Blue chief John Borghetti can be assured of at least one thing in his $20 million claim over the collapse of the airline's booking and ticketing systems last September — the provider can easily afford to pay.

The crash-landed Navitaire system used by Virgin, and a host of other airlines around the world, is owned by consulting firm Accenture, which is a $US38 billion company turning over close to $US25 billion a year.

Accenture is the former consulting and outsourcing arm of now defunct big five global accounting firm Arthur Andersen. The two parted company a decade ago over a turf war, resulting in the "Accenture" name. Partners of the consulting firm had the last laugh when Andersen went down in a sheet of flames only a couple of years later over its role as auditor to corporate house of cards Enron.

The Australian offshoot of Accenture, which generates most of its business from work for clients like Telstra, governments and the new national broadband network, is only a fraction of its born-in-Bermuda, listed-in-New-York and now living-in-Ireland parent's global operations.

Yet, in the 12 months to August 31 last year, the local arm generated revenue just short of $1 billion, according to accounts filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission just before Christmas, and a profit of $105 million — half of which was paid as a dividend, although not directly to Ireland.

Accenture's global structure shows it has taken a leaf out of the book of its former celebrity endorsement, Tiger Woods ("We know what it takes to be a Tiger"), by doing the business everywhere.

Accenture Australia Holdings is incorporated here but its main operating subsidiary, Accenture Australia, is domiciled in Bermuda — as are some other Australian operations. Accenture Australia Holdings, though, is owned through a Danish entity of the same name, which can be traced back to the Irish parent.

And, while the Navitaire airline system is run globally through Navitaire LLC in the US, in 2007 Navitaire Australia sold its business here to Bermuda-based Accenture Australia.

Bizarrely, Navitaire Australia now makes more money than when it had a real business. From revenue of $3.4 million in 2010 it turned a $4.8 million profit, thanks to tax benefits. The "revenue" was really a reversal of what Navitaire said was $3.3 million it had overprovided for interest expenses from past years.

If I was a client I would be worried that a group looking after my cash flows could get their own interest costs so wrong — particularly given Navitaire only used to have about $20 million a year of turnover, and its debts were pretty much nominal and usually with other Accenture subsidiaries.

Still, all's well that ends well, and Navitaire also managed to find $13.5 million in cash to ship off as dividends to the US parent in 2010 — which would just about cover Virgin Blue's claim against it.

While Virgin's assertion that it lost $15 million to $20 million of pre-tax profit due to Navitaire (advertising motto: Growth, Innovation, Results. Delivered.) looks a little on the high side for a company that earned less than $80 million before tax in the whole of its last financial year, the airline has some detailed accounting.

Well beyond normal costs like loss of revenue, penalties paid to airports, fuel and other service providers, Virgin picked up the tab for "guests" stranded by the crash — including food, hotels and taxis. Virgin did not have to look after its customers, but the brand damage of leaving passengers sleeping on airport doorsteps can be far higher.

Because the outage of the system lasted only 36 hours in the strictest terms, Virgin's insurers have apparently been able to walk away from paying any substantive claims.

The airline says there is no court action yet, and talks with Accenture are ongoing. Navitaire executives have been shuttling from its Minnesota home to Brisbane for the inconclusive talks, so there is no doubt they are taking the problem seriously.

Still, what seemed a marriage made in heaven — Virgin flies through them and Navitaire's service is cloud-computing based — could well be headed for the divorce courts.

ONE of the biggest sellers of Virgin Blue stock to Air New Zealand last week was David Paradice's funds management group, which tipped 94 million shares into the pot.

Paradice is a huge fan of John Borghetti's skills as an airline executive (he also admires Air NZ's Rob Fyfe), and thinks that if anyone can pull Virgin out of its profit dive, he can.

As a fund manager, though, he is a pragmatist and knows it could be a couple of years before Virgin gets back on course — which means he does not have to hold lots of Virgin shares right now.

When Fyfe's broker, Deutsche, came along offering 51¢ a share last Thursday, it would have been irresistible. Given that Paradice paid an average of less than 38¢ a share for the bulk of the holding (coincidentally, only a couple of days before the Navitaire crash-landing), selling 94 million shares at 51¢ a share gives him a $10 million-plus pre-tax profit.

On its last notices, Paradice still has about 30 million Virgin shares, and is happy to keep the stake. Air NZ's arrival as a substantial investor, even though Richard Branson might reduce his stake, is likely to give Borghetti and Fyfe a stable ownership environment to focus on their alliance and give Qantas a serious run for its money.

Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/501/5010287.html

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Qantas aircraft punt comes unstuck
January 25, 2011
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/qantas-aircraft-punt-comes-unstuck-20110124-1a2v6.html

It was the high-flying world of aircraft sales. Boeing and its European rival, Airbus, were ''aggressively'' pricing their aircraft to tempt Qantas into handing over billions of dollars for new aircraft.

And Rolls-Royce, the company synonymous with British enterprise, was engaged in similar tactics with its US competitors at General Electric and Pratt & Whitney to win the contract to supply dozens of jet engines worth more than $10 million a piece.
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In the end Airbus and Rolls-Royce beat their respective US rivals when Qantas opted for the A380 superjumbo powered by the British company's jet engines over a stretched version of Boeing's 747 jumbo jet. The Americans did even the score later when Qantas committed to a big order of Boeing's much-trumpeted 787 Dreamliner.

Ten years on, a near-disaster involving a Qantas A380 shortly after take off from Singapore has shone the spotlight on aircraft procurement and Qantas's decision to pour billions into new models of passenger jets. Over the next decade Qantas is due to take the keys to more than 150 aircraft.

A lawsuit filed last month against Rolls-Royce, the maker of the engines for the A380s, offers a rare glimpse into the purchasing process and the decision-making from the Qantas hierarchy.

The case has triggered the release of hundreds of pages of documents, including top-level advice to the Qantas board and contracts with Rolls-Royce. The more commercially sensitive parts have been kept from the public gaze after Qantas lawyers sought to have them blacked out.

The scramble to fill the gaps left by the temporary grounding of its A380s has also raised questions about whether it is now paying the price for betting on two new types of aircraft to make up the bulk of its long-haul fleet. Apart from the controversy surrounding its A380 fleet, Qantas faces the double-whammy of yet another delay - the seventh - to the delivery of 50 Dreamliners.

Early last decade Qantas chose the high-risk strategy of leapfrogging from the dependable 747 to completely new models in the A380 and the 787. Before then Qantas had a tendency to buy later versions of aircraft to avoid the teething problems that often beset new models.

As far back as 2000, the court documents reveal unease from some quarters of the Qantas board about putting its faith in the A380 - or the A3XX as it was then known.

Qantas was weighing up its choice of replacement 500-seat aircraft for ''2006-07 onwards'' - the A380 or a stretched version of Boeing's 747.

''Both manufacturers have priced their aircraft aggressively in an attempt to secure a launch customer base. It is anticipated that these prices cannot continue to be offered, given the investment required,'' says a confidential ''request for approval'' in November 2000 from Qantas executives including Grant Fenn and David Cox.

''The competition for launch customers has helped Qantas secure from Airbus greater delivery stream flexibility and superior walkaway right conditions for the significant elements of project risk, compared with Boeing.''

Later that same month the ''request for approval'' to buy 12 superjumbos, as well as six Boeing 747-400 and 13 A330 aircraft, went before the Qantas board.

Confidential minutes of a meeting shows that Qantas committee members discussed at length the paper and ''details of reductions in price offered by Airbus and Boeing'' for a swag of new aircraft including 12 A3XX-100 superjumbos and an option for 12 more.

The minutes highlight that ''while not opposing the resolutions'', Roger Maynard, the then British Airways representative on the board, ''expressed reservations on whether acquiring a very large aircraft fleet is the correct long-term decision for Qantas''. The committee subsequently approved the purchase of 12 superjumbos for an undisclosed price and an option to buy 12 more.

Documents made public from the legal tussle also show that Rolls-Royce was similarly aggressive in trying to win over Qantas's business. The British manufacturer proposed a ''competitive package of concessions'', including a reduced price and a ''further package of credits''.

Qantas eventually selected the Rolls-Royce Trent 900 engine for its A380s over that from an alliance of GE and Pratt & Whitney because it offered the ''lowest capital requirement and superior NPV [net present value]''.

It also believed that the Trent 900 engines had a ''reduced risk of exposure to entry-into-service teething problems (i.e. will enter service on other carriers six months prior to Qantas)''.

Airlines are forced to make big bets on their financial future when they buy aircraft. They spend countless hours weighing up the virtues or otherwise of planes.

After all, it is an airline's biggest capital outlay. Qantas is investing billions of dollars in the A380 and 787 (those aircraft are worth a total of $US22 billion at list prices). And with 50 on order, the Australian airline has the second-biggest order in the world for the 787 Dreamliner.

To its dismay, the superjumbos began arriving at Qantas's jet base in Sydney two years late, and the delivery of the Dreamliner is almost three years behind schedule.

Those setbacks and the latest A380 incident have raised questions about Qantas's mix of aircraft and why it did not buy Boeing's much lauded 777 aircraft, which has proved highly valuable for Singapore Airlines and Cathay Pacific in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.

Singapore Airlines has 65 of them - making up the biggest slice of its 105-strong fleet - while Cathay Pacific has 33. Known as a ''hub buster'', the long-range 777s are suited to more routes than the A380 or the jumbo jet. Not only can the more modern versions carry almost 400 passengers, but the total cost of flying the 777 is about a third less than operating a 747-400 jumbo.

''The 777s should always have been in Qantas's mix,'' an industry insider says. ''It is a perfect aircraft to fill this void caused by this incident [involving the A380]. Those in the industry shake their heads in disbelief - they have a gaping hole in their fleet.''

As the global economic slowdown hit, Singapore Airlines was able to park some of its jumbos in the Mojave Desert, California, and at its Singapore base while using its 777s on routes where demand had dropped. It was still able to retain the same flight frequency on the routes, which is especially important in order to retain lucrative business travellers.

Another insider says: ''I think it was the biggest mistake [for Qantas not to buy the 777]. They don't have the right aeroplanes. You can't buy them now because there is such demand.''

Last month Boeing announced that it would step up its production rate for the 777 due to strong demand.

But Macquarie Equities believes the biggest headache for Qantas from the repeated delays to the 787 Dreamliners is the likelihood of it having to extend the operating lives of its ageing Boeing 767s.

By next year the average age of Qantas's 26-strong 767 fleet will be 20 years. A further delay will mean that Qantas is likely to have to keep its 767s in service until at least 2015. The less fuel-efficient 767s, which mainly fly domestic routes, are more expensive to maintain the older they get. Jetstar has also been forced to use Airbus A330s as a stop-gap measure for the delays to the Dreamliner.

The debate within the industry about Qantas's fleet selection is often highly emotive.

Ian Thomas, a managing consultant at CAPA Consulting, is one who does not believe Qantas can be criticised for its fleet planning. He doubts the airline saw the 777 as a credible replacement aircraft, and believes the A380 and, to a lesser extent, the 787 remain game-changing aircraft for Qantas.

''In their minds, and I am sure it's still the case, they are very positive about those aircraft types. I really think they went through the process in a reasonable way.''

It is easy to be critical with the benefit of hindsight. If the superjumbos and 787s had arrived on time observers would now probably be describing their purchase as a top strategic decision.

And, despite the delays, Qantas did secure the planes at prices insiders describe as a ''steal'' because it was a ''launch customer''. It has also gained compensation from Boeing for the late delivery of the Dreamliner, a figure Macquarie Equities has estimated at almost $300 million.

The Boeing 777 is anything but a cheap aircraft, with a list price of $US246 million. Buying them would have required an enormous capital investment for Qantas. It is likely to have meant the airline would have had to delay the acquisition of the superjumbo and the 787, or drop purchases of other planes.

However, even those who speak in defence of Qantas's aircraft purchases believe the latest woes reinforce the need for contingency plans to cope with unforseen events such as fleet groundings and late deliveries.

For its part, Qantas argues that its efforts to shift other aircraft from its fleet to plug holes in its network left by the grounding of the A380s in November demonstrates that its contingency plans work effectively.

And despite the problems besetting the Dreamliner program, the airline says it remains committed to the aircraft and does not have any plans to splash out on the 777.

A Qantas spokeswoman, Olivia Wirth, says: ''We are very much committed to the make-up of the Qantas fleet, including ongoing commitment to the 787.''

But the fallout from the grounding of Qantas's A380 fleet shows that much hangs on purchase decisions made years ago. Given that some passenger jets can remain in service for more than 20 years, the importance of choosing the right aircraft and engines from the get-go is paramount.

No one wants to be stuck with a dud.

Source:http://bigpondnews.com/articles/National/2011/02/14/Qantas_flight_denied_air_space_entry_577477.html
Qantas flight denied air space entry
Monday, February 14, 2011 » 08:13pm

A Qantas flight from London to Singapore was stopped from flying into Iraqi air space.

A Qantas spokeswoman told AAP that Iraq air services would not allow the flight into Iraq air space on Monday as they did not "recognise the authority" who had pre-approved the flight path.

The QF32 flight had to divert to Dubai to refuel in order to allow for a different flight path.

Qantas said the airline had been flying on this route for some weeks and didn't know why this incident had now occurred.

The Australian carrier is now liaising with Iraqi authorities to investigate why the plane had been denied entry.

The QF32 is the same flight number of the A380 Airbus which suffered an engine explosion flying from Singapore to Sydney on November 4 2010.

The pilot managed to land the plane and nobody was injured in that incident.

Qantas is now completely confident Rolls Royce has fixed the engine fault on that jet.

Helicopter giant decides to follow the petro dollars
15 February 2011
The Advertiser

AUSTRALIA'S biggest commercial helicopter operator CHC Australia is moving its headquarters from Adelaide to Perth after securing a major contract with WA oil and gas company Woodside.

The company, formerly Lloyd Helicopters which was established in 1969, will maintain its Adelaide airport hangar but will move its Greenhill Rd, Wayville, corporate office with 40 jobs believed to be affected.

The Australian Industry Group (Ai Group), which takes possession of the Wayville building on June 1, will move its 30 staff across from Enterprise House later in the year, SA executive director Stephen Myatt said.

Meanwhile, CHC Australia managing director Rick Burt has said the Woodside Energy contract is worth up to $500 million which would drive a doubling of the company's revenues over the next three years.

It expects to create about 150 jobs, mostly in Karratha.

``It's a cornerstone contract with a top tier client and for us that's a foundation,'' CHC Australia managing director Rick Burt said when the contract was awarded in November.

CHC will take over the contract from Bristow in June 2011 and operate four 19-passenger Eurocopter EC225s and two Augusta Westland AW139s, capable of carrying 12 to 15 passengers, out of Karratha.

The Western Australian contract adds to the company's workforce of 420 people at 22 bases Australia-wide. CHC Helicopters has been an SA success story, trading under Lloyd Helicopters until 2000 when it changed its branding to its Canadian-based parent CHC.

In 2004, it secured a 10year, $129 million deal with the RAAF to operate its search and rescue aircraft adding to its now 31-year-old dedicated air ambulance service which operates in Queensland, New South Wales, Australian Capital Territory and Western Australia. Mr Burt, a former pilot, was brought in to run CHC Australia in June last year after more than 20 years working for oil and gas helicopter contractor Cougar.

He was unavailable at the time of publishing yesterday.

Source:http://www.news.com.au/travel/world/worst-aussie-airports-revealed/story-e6frfqai-1226033251473?from=public_rss
Worst Australian airports revealed
news.com.au | April 04, 2011 11:49AM

AUSTRALIAN airports have taken a hammering in a leaked confidential report on consumer satisfaction.

Rated the best Australian airport, Sydney Airport only managed to make it to number 67 on the list by Airports Council International, according to Bloomberg.

t was beaten by New Zealand's Auckland Airport, which came in at number 63.

Notorious for being one of the world's worst airports, Heathrow managed to beat Melbourne Airport, which came in at 104.

Townsville (71), Adelaide (72) and the Gold Coast (75) beat Melbourne, and Perth fared even worse at number 120.

Singapore's Changi Airport took out the number one spot, followed by Incheon Airport in Seoul, Hong Kong International, Al Ain in the United Arab Emirates and Beijing Capital International, China.

Also among the top rated were Pu Deng Shanghai, China, in sixth place, Gimpo International in Seoul in seventh place, Jackson Mississippi, US, in eighth place, Humberside Airport in the UK in ninth place and Kuala Lumpur International in tenth place.

Some of the major European airports were close to the bottom of the table. London's Heathrow - the world's fourth busiest airport - was in 99th place, with passengers complaining of long security queues and poor "ambience".

Amsterdam Schiphol in Holland was 93rd on the list, Ireland's Dublin Airport 98th, Frankfurt Airport in Germany 126th and Paris Charles de Gaulle five from the bottom at 137th. The Times did not say which airport was 146th on the list.

The ranking came from the ACI's Airport Service Quality standings based on passenger surveys in the second quarter of 2010.

Lol, just goes to show what a load of crap those rankings are. How the hell did Townsville outrank Adelaide or Brisbane for gods sake? It's an okay terminal but access is woeful & the landside area looks like a tin shed. Auckland's airport is pretty ordinary as well.

Qantas jet turns back
6 April 2011
The West Australian
(c) 2011, West Australian Newspapers Limited

A Qantas plane en route from Perth to Broome was forced to turn around yesterday after a gauge which assists with landing in cloudy weather failed.

Passengers boarded at 9.35am and expected to arrive in Broome about noon, but with thick cloud blanketing the town, the pilots decided to turn back about 11am.

Passenger Damian Pio, of Broome, said pilots announced the gauge had stopped working and they needed it to land in Broome.

“As soon as we touched down in Perth, they had the problem fixed within five minutes,” he said.

Some people fed up with the delay left the flight, causing more delays.

The plane arrived in Broome about 4pm.

Qantas jet turns back
6 April 2011
The West Australian
(c) 2011, West Australian Newspapers Limited

A Qantas plane en route from Perth to Broome was forced to turn around yesterday after a gauge which assists with landing in cloudy weather failed.

Passengers boarded at 9.35am and expected to arrive in Broome about noon, but with thick cloud blanketing the town, the pilots decided to turn back about 11am.

Passenger Damian Pio, of Broome, said pilots announced the gauge had stopped working and they needed it to land in Broome.

“As soon as we touched down in Perth, they had the problem fixed within five minutes,” he said.

Some people fed up with the delay left the flight, causing more delays.

The plane arrived in Broome about 4pm.

I get fed up when I read news about passengers complaining about a technical issues being rectified so that the aircraft can 'safely' land at their destination... Wake up and smell the coffee, its either the technical repair be carried out or you dont arrive at your destination!

I get fed up when I read news about passengers complaining about a technical issues being rectified so that the aircraft can 'safely' land at their destination... Wake up and smell the coffee, its either the technical repair be carried out or you dont arrive at your destination!

Well, from the passenger's perspective, they may think why didn't maintenance pick this up and kept the plane in good order so this delay didn't need to happen at all.

Source:http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/qantas-strikes-to-hit-10000-passengers-today/story-e6freuy9-1226180303475
Shock as Qantas chief Alan Joyce grounds airline's domestic and international fleet
Simon Benson and Vanda Carson The Daily Telegraph October 29, 2011 5:02PM

QANTAS has today grounded all its domestic and international flights.

The airline made the announcement at 5pm this evening.

In a shock move, Mr Joyce announced at a news conference just minutes ago that he planned to lock out all workers in dispute with Qantas from 8pm Monday night.

Because of the severity of the measure, the airline was grounding all flights immediately, he said.

Flights in the air would land at their destinations as normal but no other Qantas flight would take off until further notice, Mr Joyce said.

"The airline will be grounded as long as it takes to get a resolution on this.''

Mr Joyce said staff not in dispute with Qantas would not be locked out, but all those unions involved in the dispute would be locked out and would not be paid from 8pm Monday.

Mr Joyce said the lockout would continue until the unions withdrew their "extreme plan" of disruption due to start from from 8pm Monday.

“Qantas is losing $15m a week from strike action – a continuous debt we can’t afford.

“The business is bleeding badly and the grounding of the fleet has been forced directly by the extreme action of unions”

He said the unions were slowly killing Qantas. The number of people expressing intention not to fly Qantas had risen from 5 % to 30 %.

Mr Joyce said a full refund will be available to those affected by the grounding. Affected passengers whose travel has already started will be accommodated in hotels.


You can also change the date of your flight or check travel information here http://t.co/u8ATj91v

The Sunday Telegraph can reveal the airline informed the Federal government of its intentions at 2pm this afternoon.

The move follows a protacted pay dispute with the unions.

Mr Joyce warned on Friday that the airline would have no option but to close half its operations and slash tens of thousands of jobs if the industrial action continued.


EARLIER TODAY

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph following an annual general meeting in Sydney yesterday, Mr Joyce said parts of the airline would begin to be shut down if the current dispute with engineers, pilots and ground staff is not resolved.

"If action continues as the unions have promised, we will have no choice but to to shrink the airline bit by bit," he said.

"If it goes for more than a year, we estimate we will have to shut down half of Qantas operations. That's 50 per cent of Qantas, gone.

"It goes without saying that this would have very grave consequences for jobs."

His stark assessment of the financial costs of industrial action now crippling the airline - estimated to be $2 million a day - has put a cloud over at least 17,000 jobs, or almost half the Qantas workforce.

Services and flights would soon start to be wound down, with major disruptions to commercial and tourism travel within Australia and overseas.

Yesterday's AGM, held under tight security and a heavy police presence at the University of NSW, was told that the strike action had already cost Qantas $68 million, on top of the disruption to the public and tourism industry.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard yesterday said she was receiving regular briefings on the dispute, but would not say when or if the government would intervene.

Shareholders boo Joyce's $2 million bonus

"I am maintaining regular briefings with the relevant ministers about the Qantas dispute so I am making sure I am continuously informed," she said.

"I believe Australians expect the parties to this dispute to get it fixed."

Transport Workers Union national secretary Tony Sheldon, who is tipped to win the nomination as the next national Labor Party president in December, said meetings held around the country yesterday endorsed further industrial action if Qantas does not guarantee job security.

The fireworks that were expected to occur did not eventuate at the meeting.

There was a brief 10-minute protest by the Occupy Sydney group before the meeting started at 11am.

Shareholders booed during the meeting when Mr Joyce was awarded a $2 million pay rise.

However, in a vindication of his management of the airline, 98 per cent of shareholders voted in favour of it.

In addition to pay rises, the engineers, pilots and ground staff are protesting at Qantas's plans to restructure the airline with job losses of 1000 and a new non-Qantas branded offshoot to be based in Asia.

The unions claim the restructure amounted to off-shoring pilots, engineers and catering jobs. Qantas management reject this.

Budget offshoot Jetstar's overheads are far lower than those of Qantas. It has cut costs by outsourcing flight crewing, payroll and its call centre to Manilla.

Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers' Association secretary Steve Purvinas warned industrial action could extend until the middle of next year.

Mr Purvinas argued Qantas' call for government intervention was unnecessary because flight cancellations were negligible.

In September, when the entire month was affected by industrial action by engineers, Qantas only cancelled 1.8 per cent of it's flights and Jetstar cancelled 2.1 per cent.

Vice President of the Australian and International Pilots Association, Richard Woodward, said pilots would also be ramping up its industrial action over the coming weeks and months.

Mr Purvinas said the Qantas board was "trying to shift the best part of our airline to Asia. Which is something that I think most Australians despise".

He warned that more "severe action" may need to be taken by his union in coming months.

"The licensed engineers have a number of options up our sleeve (including) stoppages of up to 48 hours," he said.

"At this stage we haven't come to anywhere near that stage but we are of course concerned about government intervention and now with the premiers of NSW and victoria calling for this intervention so that they can save their tourism industry."

damn, that's is very significant...:ohno: just imagine the immediate as well as the ripple effects it will cause...

Source:http://www.smh.com.au/national/virgin-to-the-rescue-for-qantas-passengers-stranded-worldwide-20111029-1mpik.html
Virgin to the rescue for Qantas passengers stranded world-wide
October 29, 2011 - 7:13PM

Rival airlines Virgin Australia says it is bringing in extra staff and planes to accommodate Qantas's stranded passengers all over the world.

Virgin spokeswoman Danielle Keighery said special counters had been set up for passengers stranded by the grounding of Qantas's entire fleet.

"We are pulling together things as quickly as we can," Ms Keighery told reporters at Sydney Airport on Saturday.

"We have dedicated counters, in all the airports around the country we have extra staff coming in at the moment."
Ms Keighery said customers should also visit the Virgin website, which has been especially set up for Qantas passengers wanting to book a seat.

"We will also have special fares for those Qantas people," she said.
"With this industrial action that has been going on in the last week we have announced an additional 40,000 seats in the market over the next number of weeks and months.

"We are obviously now working with all our alliances including Singapore Airlines, Etihad Airlines, Air New Zealand and Delta to see if we can get any extra planes, any extra capacity into the domestic market and also obviously helping those people stranded internationally and abroad.
"That is a real priority for us."

Virgin says it will offer special Stranded Passenger recovery fares for passengers who are currently at a port away from home and hold a Qantas ticket, to return home initially within the next five days.

"These special fares are subject to availability," Ms Keighery said.

She said Virgin had a good relationship with its unions.

"We do have a good relationship with our union, we constantly work with them and our staff and we'll continue to do so," she said.

"Staff engagement is obviously key for us and it's a program we'll continue to work on."
AAP

How the Qantas crisis unfolded
Sydney Morning Herald (http://www.smh.com.au/travel/how-the-qantas-crisis-unfolded-20111029-1mpv6.html)
October 29, 2011

QANTAS engineers began their industrial campaign in August, after Qantas announced a $249million after-tax profit.

They have been joined in their actions by the Transport Workers Union — whose baggage handler and ground staff members are calling for greater job security, better wages and conditions — and the Community and Public Sector Union, whose customs worker members are calling for better pay and conditions.

Here’s how the dispute intensified since the start of the month:
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October 1 The Transport Workers Union warns of rolling strikes until the row over pay and conditions is settled. A day earlier a strike by baggage handlers and ground staff strike affected 8500 passengers on the long weekend. ‘‘If anyone needs to apologise for this, it’s Qantas,’’ says Transport Workers Union official Scott Connolly.

October 10 The engineers’ union schedules a strike, then abruptly calls it off, but only after 40 flights are cancelled and the travel plans of 11,000 passengers are disrupted.

October 13 Ground staff and customs workers strike for four hours. October 14 Aircraft maintenance engineers strike for four hours, causing the cancellation of 17 flights. The Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, says that if Qantas and the unions want to end the dispute they should ‘‘get on and do it’’.

October 17 Qantas grounds five planes, bringing the cancellation of 400 flights.

October 20 Aircraft engineers call off strikes and overtime bans for the next three weeks in an attempt to get Qantas to reinstate the grounded planes. The chief executive of the Australian Federation of Travel Agents, Jayson Westbury, calls the dispute a "disaster".
October 25 Planned stoppages by the Transport Workers Union for the next two days are called off.

Friday More delays for passengers at international terminals, with about 4000 baggage handlers and ground crew holding stopwork meetings. A hostile Qantas annual general meeting is held in Sydney with tight security.

Yesterday Qantas announces it will lock out all its employees covered by the agreements that are now in dispute, and ground its entire domestic and international fleets indefinitely.

Reith blames Labor for Qantas move
October 29, 2011 - 8:18PM
AAP

Former industrial relations minister Peter Reith says Labor is partly to blame for the Qantas industrial dispute that has led to the company grounding its entire fleet.

Qantas on Saturday grounded its entire domestic and international fleets indefinitely and announced a lockout of engineers, pilots and other employees beginning on Monday night.

Mr Reith said the union's "guerilla campaign" had left Qantas Chief Executive Alan Joyce little choice but to take the dramatic action.
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"He's got to do whatever he can to bring to an end this madness," Mr Reith told Sky News.

"The claims being made by some of these unions are completely unreasonable and I don't think Alan Joyce had any choice."

Mr Reith said Labor legislation had made the industrial dispute possible.

"The Labor government of course bears a lot of responsibility for what's happened.

"They have made it easier for the unions to take strike action."

Mr Reith said he did not know how Fair Work Australia would respond to the crisis because it was increasingly stacked with "union types".

Considering that, apparently, the CEO gave himself a $5million payrise and no payrise to the workers, its not so surprising

Shareholders back Qantas as union dispute deepens
Matt O'sullivan
October 29, 2011

Read more: http://www.theage.com.au/business/shareholders-back-qantas-as-union-dispute-deepens-20111028-1mobe.html#ixzz1c4pDCb6L

QANTAS chief executive Alan Joyce has traded verbal blows with union heavyweights in one of the most hostile annual meetings this year, leaving any resolution to their damaging standoff even further away.

Despite the open hostility at the Qantas annual general meeting in Sydney, management's strategy to challenge three unions representing long-haul pilots, aircraft engineers and ground crew while it steps up an aggressive expansion into Asia was overwhelmingly endorsed by institutional shareholders.

About 96 per cent of votes were cast in favour of Qantas's executive pay card - which detailed executive pay and was the most contentious item at the meeting - despite unions and the Australian Shareholders' Association campaigning against it.

Mr Joyce's remuneration increased 71 per cent, from $2.92 million in 2009-10 to $5.01 million in 2010-11. He was granted 1.7 million Qantas shares under a long-term incentive plan. The total value of remuneration for the Qantas executives in 2010-11 was $14.44 million, up from $8.91 million in the year before.

As fears deepen that the bitter industrial dispute will escalate dramatically, Qantas has put the cost of it so far at $68 million, and estimates it is losing $15 million a week.

After stopping work for an hour at airports across the country yesterday, thousands of baggage handlers and other ground crew have resolved to intensify their industrial action.

And despite the big end of town's support yesterday, Mr Joyce and the Qantas board were castigated by retail shareholders on issues ranging from executive pay and outsourcing to their overall leadership. Security was unusually tight, with police, security guards, barriers and metal detectors.

Later, Mr Joyce told reporters that Qantas jobs were on the line because of the strikes.

''The situation for us is not sustainable. If this does continue it will cost jobs,'' he said.

In a veiled warning to the government, Mr Joyce said the dispute was not unique to Qantas but was occurring in sectors across the economy.

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott said the situation was getting worse and it was time for Prime Minister Julia Gillard to ''get active''.

''This is happening on the Prime Minister's watch; it's her responsibility and she should do something,'' Mr Abbott said.

But Assistant Treasurer and former union boss Bill Shorten said the dispute was capable of being resolved and the government would not intervene now.

He said state premiers Ted Baillieu and Barry O'Farrell leaking to newspapers a letter to the Prime Minister demanding an intervention showed that they were interested in political grandstanding.

Ms Gillard said she was ''maintaining regular briefings with the relevant ministers about the Qantas dispute, so I'm making sure that I am continuously informed about it. I believe Australians expect the parties to this dispute to … get it fixed.''

Qantas chairman Leigh Clifford said the voting showed that shareholders overwhelmingly supported management, describing the outcome of the meeting as a ''bit of a watershed''.

''There was a lot of talk about how the board was going to be rolled … but that was not the case,'' he said.

Although Qantas was keen for changes to the foreign ownership cap on the airline, Mr Clifford said there was no political appetite on either side of politics for such reform to the Qantas Sale Act.

He also dismissed rumours that private equity firms were circling Qantas, saying it would be difficult for them to raise the necessary funds due to the precarious state of the global markets.

With MICHELLE GRATTAN, RICHARD WILLINGHAM and AAP

That is a big step bold for Quantas management to take. Both sides are playing hard ball and politics are being played and it looks like its going to be a lose-lose situation unless the unions and management start working together to the long term survival of the airline. It is such a competitive market and all the goodwill of the Quantas brand is being eroded.

Its a bit like British Airways where despite being British I use them as a last resort for important trips as every year one of the unions will cause major disruption. Like Quantas they pay more than the competition and have staffing levels higher than the competition but service that is far inferior to their competitors. BA have not yet had to resort to a Quantas style lock out as they have most of the slots at Heathrow which helps them stay in profit but with Heathrow at capacity and no chance of runway expansion the European competitors (CDG, Frankfurt and Amsterdam) will erode that profitability and the unions will bring the company to a similar decision point as Quantas.

I doubt the unions and management can ever work together, so something like this lockdown is needed to shock the whole system and country to come to realize the status quo is not the solution going forward. Then it becomes a PR battle on who wins the day.

http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/3/1/3/2007313.jpg
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Air-Australia/Airbus-A320-212/2007313/L/

QANTAS - BOEING 787 - PERTH

As Boeing says on its official website the Dreamliner has a range between 7,650 nm (787-800) and 8,500 nm (787-900): http://www.boeing.com/commercial/787family/787-8prod.html

Qantas ha orders for 15 787-800 and 35 787-900.

These are the maps from Perth International Airport (PER):

7,650 nm: http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?R=7650nm%40PER
8,500 nm: http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?R=8500nm%40PER

I think that Qantas could fly directly to Europe without stopping in Singapore Changi (SIN).

Do you think that Perth International Airport will grow in the nearby future thanks to this type of aircraft?

Do you think that Perth International Airport will grow in the nearby future thanks to this type of aircraft?

I guess that Qantas will maybe start a new non-stop connection from Perth to LHR once they receive the 787-900, but that's about it. The Perth market with its 1.5 million inhabitants is simply too small to support all that many longhaul connections.

Just to note, this thread will be renamed for Australia/Oceania based carriers including that of Qantas, Virgin Australia, and Air New Zealand. Any developments for Australian Airports, please use its respective threads, or open new ones for airport discussion. Thanks!

Qantas to deploy A380 on Sydney-HK route
Qantas announced plans to deploy an Airbus A380 aircraft on the Sydney-Hong Kong route from January 15 next year. At the same time, it will also increase frequencies on the sector, operating four return services per week between Hong Kong and Sydney, said the airline's chief executive, Alan Joyce.

This expansion is made possible by two new A380s that the carrier is slated to receive by year end.

The four flights will operate on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.

Currently, Qantas has one direct return flight on this route on a Boeing B747-400. It also operates one additional direct flight from Hong Kong to Sydney using an A330-300, while other flights between Sydney and Hong Kong go either via Melbourne or Brisbane.

Hong Kong is the carrier’s fourth destination to be served by the A380 after Singapore, London and Los Angeles. The two new superjumbos will also enable Qantas to increase frequencies between Melbourne and London, via Singapore, from six flights per week to a daily service, while flights between Melbourne and Los Angeles will go from a four weekly service to a daily service.

This move will hopefully lift Qantas’ reputation, which has recently been trounced by conflict with its unions (see story here) and technical difficulties (see story here).

For more information, visit www.qantas.com.au

Alisha Haridasani


(Business Traveller (http://www.businesstraveller.com/asia-pacific/news/qantas-to-deploy-a380-on-sydney-hk-route), 2011)

Jetstar to run 787 Dreamliner on Auckland-Singapore flights

http://www.ausbt.com.au/photos/view/maxsize:467,260/4ebc576e42c847dbbf091c83767f2254-jq-787-flipper.jpg

Jetstar is starting to reveal its Boeing 787 Dreamliner routes, with Auckland-Singapore among the first to get the next-gen jetliner in early 2013.

The 11 hour flight is currently made on an Airbus A330, which the airline says will gradually be replaced by Boeing's Dreamliner. Jetstar's Dreamliners will be configured with business and economy class cabins, and later in their lifespan the JQ 787s can be handed down to Qantas for domestic runs in Australia.

Jetstar Group CEO Bruce Buchanan boasts that Jetstar will be "the first airline based in Australasia, and the first low cost carrier in the world," to operate the Boeing 787.

"The 787 is a quantum leap in aircraft technology and passenger comfort," Buchanan enthuses. "It’s been said that the 787 represents the same kind of paradigm shift we saw with the first commercial jetliners in the 1950s and the 747 jumbos in the 1970s."

"The increased fuel economy, longer range and improved cabin experience make the 787 an absolute game-changer for passengers and airlines, so we’re really looking forward to offering it to our New Zealand customers on international flights."

Jetstar has 15 of the base model 787-8 Dreamliners on order, while Qantas has opted for 35 of the stretched 787-9s. Between the two brands this makes for the world’s second largest airline order of the Dreamliner, after the 55 spoken for by launch customer ANA.
First Qantas 787s expected by 2016

Lyell Strambi, Qantas Group Executive for Operations, told Australian Business Traveller that Qantas expects its first 787-9 to arrive “in the 2015 timeframe, so that’s 2015-16”.
“Internationally Jetstar needs the 787 in the short term and Qantas domestic needs it in the long term” Strambi explains, “so in the longer term we have the option to swing the 787-8 back into the domestic space when we retire the A330 fleet.”

For that reason Jetstar’s Dreamliners will be fitted with the same two-class configuration to match Qantas’ domestic needs, so that the Jetstar business class seats formerly known as Star Class will become Qantas domestic business class.

The Qantas 787s will be fitted with business, premium economy and economy class, Strambi says, and will be used for both international and domestic routes. “In the short term domestic is secondary but in the long term it’s a primary role.”

The Dreamliner will also replace the older Boeing 747s, which Qantas has already started to retire from its fleet – with the exception of the most recent models which are being upgraded with A380-style interiors.

“Our long term vision for international is just two aircraft types, the A380 and Boeing 787, although in the interim we’ll use the 747 for quite a few more years yet” Strambi predicts.

(AUSBT (""), 2011)

Air New Zealand trials upgrade auctions – bid for a better seat!

Frequent flyers are used to spending points for upgrades, or even being offered bargain-basement rates at check-in to pay their way into business or first class seats.

But Air New Zealand -- ever the innovators -- have a new option for upgrading: OneUp auctions, where you bid a set amount before your flight for an upgrade to fully flat beds in Business Premier or more room in premium economy Spaceseats.

Air New Zealand's unique Spaceseats are some of the roomiest premium economy seats around. And who doesn't like a purple ottoman beanbag?

OneUp is currently in trial mode, and only on direct bookings to North American cities Vancouver, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

(On SF and Vancouver routes, you'll find older planes with more conventional premium economy seats rather than the Spaceseats, and you won't find the improvements to Business Premier seen on Air NZ's newest Boeing 777-300ER planes.)

According to an Air NZ spokesperson Australian Business Traveller talked to, it works like this: "Economy and Premium Economy customers are invited to place a bid to upgrade to the next cabin class by nominating the dollar figure they would be prepared to pay. Customers whose bids are successful are advised a couple of days before travel."

Upgrade from economy to fully flat beds in Business Premier or more space in the Premium Economy Spaceseats? Yes please.

There's a coloured status bar that shows how likely you are to succeed in your bid before you click OK.
The status bar indicates the strength of the offer being made. It's green when the offer being made reaches the average level of past successful offers (although it's no guarantee that any bid will be successful). When the bar turns red, it indicates that history shows your bid is "likely to be too low to be successful", Air NZ says.

So how many people will get an email offering a OneUp upgrade? "The number will vary, depending on expected loadings," Air NZ's spokesperson told us.

And you'll need to have booked through Air NZ itself, not Virgin Australia or any of the Kiwi airline's other partners: "Offers can only be made to those passengers that have booked an airfare directly with Air NZ and for whom we hold a valid email address."

If you're an Air NZ Airpoints frequent flyer, don't worry, your existing confirmed recognition upgrades (which used to be called complimentary upgrades) will clear ahead of OneUp upgrades: "OneUp upgrades will occur after Loyalty (Air New Zealand Airpoints) upgrades have been allowed for. Upgrades that would have occurred prior to the OneUp programme will continue to occur," the spokesperson assured us.

(via AUSBT (http://www.ausbt.com.au/air-new-zealand-s-latest-innovation-oneup-upgrade-auctions))

All eyes on Joyce, Jetstar, HNA and Cathay Pacific

November 25, 2011 – 11:04 am, by Ben Sandilands

There is speculation, and a few hard facts, that all point to an interesting situation arising in Hong Kong in which Qantas may find a way to leverage itself into a Hong Kong or lower Pearl River delta based new Jetstar franchise, and even find an opening for its proposed Asia based narrow body premium minority owned airline.

The hard facts are that Cathay Pacific, which has until now dismissed the utility of setting up its own low cost brand, has seen fit to make public allusions as to the tragically short life that would await a Jetstar franchise based in Hong Kong.

Which suggests it is worried, since if it wasn’t it needn’t say anything.

Also on the public record is the intention of the HNA Group to convert its Hong Kong Express brand into a low cost carrier, which most observers regard it as anyhow, and expand and re-fleet it with Airbus A320s while transferring its small fleet of around eight 737-800s to full service brand Hong Kong Airways.

On 1 September Jetstar group CEO Bruce Buchanan gave this more than interesting address in Sydney which touched on the ‘China opportunity’. It was one of those speeches where the space between the lines was even more important, and Jetstar reminded more than one aviation reporter that this speech needed to be read very carefully in relation to the bigger picture in China, which is where Qantas group CEO, Alan Joyce, is, or was.

He isn’t sharing his diary at the moment.

But he was deeply missed at yesterday evening’s Senate committee hearing into the amendments to the Qantas Sale Act embodied in the Qantas (Still Call Australia Home) bill which Qantas regards as the Kill Jetstar bill.

Asia based contacts have told Plane Talking that HNA is not convinced, so far, by suggestions that a Jetstar branding, or an involvement in any restructuring which might see Qantas contribute money and jets to an Asia based premium carrier, would work for them.

But given reports that Singapore has not embraced the premium carrier project and that Qantas is instead pursuing a Malaysia solution, variously involving Malaysia Airlines or Air Asia, the situation in Hong Kong and in the PRC based HNA group of airlines merits close attention.

Not just in Australia, but also in Singapore, where the inability of Singapore Airlines to engineer its own China solution for tapping into its future potential has been a long running and frustrating spectacle for its business watchers

(via Crikey (http://blogs.crikey.com.au/planetalking/2011/11/25/all-eyes-on-joyce-jetstar-hna-and-cathay-pacific/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+CrikeyBlogs+%28Crikey+Blogs%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher))

Here it comes:

http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/1/5/2/2045251.jpg

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Air-New-Zealand/Boeing-777-300ER/2045251/L/&sid=cca8a2c90d36ea72649e2a1b96a92eb0

^^^^^I hope they will paint the engines black.. But for the rest a fantastic plane..

Source : http://pic.feeyo.com/posts/555/5553421.html

http://pic.feeyo.com/pic/20120131/201201310944343513.jpg

http://cdn-www.airliners.net/aviation-photos/photos/3/7/4/2091473.jpg
http://www.airliners.net/photo/Virgin-Australia-Airlines/Boeing-777-3ZG-ER/2091473/L/

Pretty big move in Australia's Aviation business:

Qantas restructure splits domestic, international operations
By Michael Mackey | May 23, 2012

Qantas A380. By Rob Finlayson

The Qantas Group (QF) announced it will split the carrier’s international and domestic operations into two distinct businesses as part of its five-year transformation plan launched in August 2011 (ATW Daily News, Aug. 17, 2011).

“Qantas International and Qantas Domestic—currently combined as ‘Qantas Airlines’—will be formally managed as two distinct businesses,” a QF statement said. “Each will have its own CEO and its own operational and commercial functions with financial results to be reported separately.” The new structure will be effective July 1.

The restructure will strengthen the Qantas Group’s portfolio and help deliver its previously agreed strategic goals, CEO Alan Joyce said.

The Group also announced a number of executive management changes, including appointing former QF Frequent Flyer CEO Simon Hickey to CEO-QF International; QF Airlines-operations group executive Lyell Strambi to CEO-QF domestic; Group executive, strategy and technology Jayne Hrdlicka to CEO-Jetstar Group; Group executive-international strategy Lesley Grant to CEO-QF Frequent Flyer; and Gareth Evans to CFO.

(Via Air Transport World (http://atwonline.com/airline-finance-data/news/qantas-restructure-splits-domestic-international-operations-0522#.T7wsKvLLbjA.twitter))