ABC News Online
Posted: Wed, 4 Sep 2002 16:32 AEST
Singapore Airlines yet to approach Govt: Anderson
The Federal Transport Minister, John Anderson, says the Government has not received any approaches from Singapore Airlines about entering the Australian domestic market.
Singapore Airlines says it is keeping its options open on expanding its Australian operations, but is not confirming or denying a Channel Nine report that it is considering reviving Ansett.
Mr Anderson says new entrants in the domestic market could be accommodated, but he says any move will not see a revival of Ansett, because the carrier no longer exists.
"Should it be the case that Singapore wants to fly an Australian airline, we would certainly look at that on its merits and broadly speaking we welcome new entrants," he said.
"If they chose to use the old name, that would really be a matter for them, but it wouldn't be the old Ansett, although hopefully it might offer employment to some Ansett people who have not yet found jobs."
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Wednesday September 4, 5:06 PM (Singapore)
Analysts play down SIA take-off in Australia
By Sophie Hares
SYDNEY, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Speculation Singapore Airlines Ltd could launch an assault on the Australian market resurfaced on Wednesday as the Asian carrier decides whether to snap up space at Sydney's domestic airport terminal.
Badly burnt by its recent Antipodean ventures, analysts say there's a slim chance SIA could make the expensive move into a domestic market dominated by Australia's biggest airline Qantas Airways Ltd .
SIA says it is keeping its options open, despite racking up heavy losses from an investment in Air New Zealand
and backing away from a plan last year to recapitalise failed Australian carrier Ansett.
"Our position hasn't changed from what we stated previously. We are keeping our options open on the Australian market. It's an important market to us," an SIA spokesman said.
Sydney Airports Corp Ltd (SACL), which has converted the former Ansett domestic terminal into a common user facility, is in talks with SIA over access to terminal gates after a recent inspection by an SIA team.
"We judged that their assessment and their evaluation of the potential for a third domestic carrier was very measured and very serious," said Peter Gibbs, a spokesman for SACL.
The terminal talks have sparked renewed media speculation of an imminent move into the Australian domestic market, with theories ranging from a reborn Ansett to a tie-up with Richard Branson's Virgin Blue [VA.UL] , which has 20 percent of the market. On Wednesday, shares in Qantas dropped six cents or 1.5 percent to A$4.09, while SIA closed unchanged at S$11.30.
ALLIANCES
Analysts have long deemed Australia's domestic market only big enough for two players, and say any new entrant would struggle for profits given the stranglehold Qantas exerts over 80 percent of the market.
But they say SIA wants to bridge the gap in the Star Alliance created by the failure of Ansett almost a year ago and wants to secure feeder traffic for its international routes.
Any move by OneWorld alliance member Qantas to take a stake in its Star Alliance rival Air New Zealand could also jeopardise Air NZ's Star Alliance membership and leave SIA with no alliance partner in the region.
"The market's fairly soft at the moment, which makes it a challenging market for any prospective new entrant, other than someone who has a defined network feeding into the system like SIA," said Ian Thomas, Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation analyst.
SIA would also likely demand government concessions to make it easier to compete effectively in Australia.
"I know they want to be in, the odds are high they'll go in," said an Asian airline analyst who declined to be named.
"The ability to compete effectively in Australia is what they want. If there's no viable option, they'll walk," he said.
However, speculation SIA might look to revive Ansett was swiftly played down, with SIA likely use its strong balance sheet to raise capital to buy new planes rather than used the failed airline's ageing aircraft.
SIA, whose attempt last year to break into the Australian market was rebuffed by the government, has not reopened official negotiations, said a spokesman for Transport Minister John Anderson in Canberra.
The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) also said it has held no discussions with SIA about obtaining the necessary paperwork to run an airline which would take a minimum of four months to complete. And Virgin Blue reiterated it has no plans to tie-up with SIA, which owns 49 percent of its sister airline Virgin Atlantic.
"There's nothing going on between us and them," said David Huttner, Virgin Blue's commercial head.
(Additional reporting by Belinda Goldsmith in Canberra and Peh Soo Hwee in Singapore)
($1=A$1.82)
Last edited by Wirraway; 4th Sep 2002 at 10:12.