Good pick-up Hot'n'High, I think it is worth posting the entire shocking article for posterity, rather than being lost linked article.
The Qantas Kangaroo Route a boomer for Cathay Pacific
- ANDREW CARSWELL
- The Daily Telegraph
- March 26, 2014 9:44AM
ITS partner Qantas claims the invasion of foreign airlines is costing it millions and driving a knife into its profitability.
But Asian giant Cathay Pacific believes the full effects of the increased capacity being poured into the Australian aviation market by foreign carriers is not only negligible, but a situation Qantas partly brought on itself.
The Hong Kong-based carrier has confirmed it has only seen a marginal impact on its yields on the treasured Kangaroo Route from Australia to London since the seating capacity into Australia grew by 5.2 per cent in 2012-13 and has grown by 46 per cent since 2009. It claims strong sales in the front end of its planes had virtually negated any drop in yield for economy seats.
Cathay chief operating officer Rupert Hogg told The Daily Telegraph that although its 70 weekly flights out of Australia had seen “a bit” of pressure on yields, they remained successful and profitable, while their Australian counterparts fail to make a buck on their offshore operations.
He claimed the strength of Cathay’s Australian operations proved that not only its high-end business and premium economy products were sought after, so was the traditional Kangaroo Route through Asia.
“In terms of the supply side, you can see many carriers increasing their capacity into Australia markedly, partly to meet that demand over Asian mid points to China and so forth, and partly in response to the Qantas-Emirates deal,’’ he said.