OzJet means business as new class takes flight
Wed "Melbourne Age"
OzJet means business as new class takes flight
By Ian Porter
November 30, 2005
IT WAS always going to be a bit of a circus with the media along for the ride, so it was no surprise the first scheduled flight of Paul Stoddart's new business class airline, OzJet, was late taking off.
Despite a lack of automatic boarding pass readers at the gate, passengers were on time. It was the runway that was not.
"I don't know what those last 10 minutes were about, something on the runway I think," Mr Stoddart said after the Boeing 737 had left the ground 27 minutes after the scheduled time.
In a tie adorned with flying pigs, Mr Stoddart received a round of applause as Flight 74 left the ground. Much has been made of OzJet's 30-year-old 737s, but the plane used yesterday flew as well as a new one and was more comfortable than most thanks to a new fitout.
Chief executive Hans van Pelt said Mr Stoddart's European Aviation had maintained the planes from new, when owned by Sabena, and when they moved into charter work. "Usually, at this age, planes have done around 70,000 cycles (take-off and landing is one cycle). The planes we are using have only done around 40,000¡_"
He said each had a "de-check" ¡ª 18,000 man-hours and the examination and replacement, if necessary, of virtually every moving component.
There are 60 seats on a plane that usually seats 120 people, giving more width and leg room.
The second flight from Tullamarine to Mascot left on time with about 30 passengers, enough to break even at the full one-way price of $325. OzJet is feeling its way into the business class market. Lesson one is that business flyers tend not to return in the middle of the day, judging by bookings on those flights.
Australian Airlines, Qantas' low-cost offshore carrier, will take over the Cairns-Tokyo route from its parent from mid-2006. It will also offer 28 premium economy seats on planes from July, its first move away from an all economy configuration.
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Wed "The Australian"
Bumps as new airline takes flight
Blair Speedy
November 30, 2005
OZJET'S maiden flight was 40 minutes late leaving Melbourne, half an hour late getting into Sydney, there was no champagne and the exit sign fell off the emergency door when it landed.
But chairman Paul Stoddart said he always expected a few hiccups on the first day of operations for the all-business-class outfit - the first major airline launched in Australia since Virgin Blue in 2000.
And so there were.
The first was with the check-in system, which refused to issue boarding cards for the queue of passengers assembled for the 6.30am Melbourne-Sydney flight.
When this was sorted out, Mr Stoddart rolled a chequered-flag ribbon across the boarding gate to ceremoniously mark the opening of the first flight.
But as scissors aren't allowed past the security checkpoint, he was unable to cut it, instead lifting it above his head and waving passengers down the walkway.
The cabin crew then proceeded to show passengers to the wrong seats.
To be fair, the seat numbers were placed on the overhead compartment in line with the headrests, making it unclear whether the relevant seat was the one in front or the one behind. It turned out to be the one in front, but not before several people had already been told the opposite.
The plane, a 30-year-old Boeing 737-200, was fitted out with 60 new and comfy leather seats, offering generous legroom.
Having just been through a complete rebuild, the plane seemed to fly well enough, and was no noisier or bumpier than the brand-new aircraft flown by Qantas and Virgin Blue.
But there were telltale signs of the craft's age - small chips in the plastic trim, drill-holes in the overhead console and, of course, the self-detaching exit sign.
The cabin crew struggled with the service level of business class, and, inexplicably, champagne was not offered.
The flight eventually touched down in Sydney at 8.25am - 30 minutes late and just five minutes before the plane was scheduled to head back to Melbourne.
Anticipating some teething problems, Ozjet yesterday brought in a "spare" 737 to service some flights, but by lunchtime the airline was running a full hour behind schedule.
Mr Stoddart, who owns 80per cent of Ozjet, said he was confident of ironing out the kinks.
Ozjet isn't the only airline to have a rough debut. Virgin Blue's inaugural flight in September 2000 arrived half an hour late.
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Last edited by Wirraway; 29th Nov 2005 at 17:05.