OUTLOOK BLEAK FOR AUSTRALIAN

[B A Lert]

Flight International on 27/3/06 reported

"It is only a question of time, analysts say, before Qantas folds Australian Airlines into its planned new long-haul, low-cost arm Jetstar International. Both target overseas routes where margins are too low for Qantas.

The market is taking its cue on Australian’s future from the recent Qantas reshuffle that creates only two airline groups – Qantas and Jetstar. Geoff Dixon, Qantas chief executive, also says Jetstar will fly some of the new Boeing 787s Qantas has ordered. He confirms that none of the aircraft on order are earmarked for Australian, which prompts insiders to predict that it will last no longer than its current fleet of five 767s. They expect a gradual transfer of Australian routes to Jetstar as the latter expands its fleet.

Peter Harbison, chair of the Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation, claims Qantas would be better off without Australian, the worst-performing of its six brands. Comparing it to Jetstar, he says “it is very hard to see why Qantas would continue with both models”

When do they take over Qantas 767 routes to Tokyo, or have they remained wuth Qantas? Things musn't look too good in FNQ.

[Bug Smasher Smasher]

It is only a question of time, analysts say, before Qantas folds Australian Airlines into its planned new long-haul, low-cost arm Jetstar International.
DUH!:hmm:

Not takin' the pi$$ out of you Mr Lert, but Flight International for so blatantly stating what the vast majority of us have been thinking since J* was sprung on us.

AO's due to take over the two CNS-NRT flights june-ish. I reckon JAL is absolutely spewing as one of the flights is a codeshare.

Pack up the speedboats and trailbikes boys, you're headin south! :ok:

[P|_azbot]

Call me stupid but I thought the idea of Australian and Jetstar was to take up more and more routes until they just roll up mainline as a whole and the others become the new Qantas? This is in no way a stir. I am ATC so I have no horse in the race.

[cogwheel]

Media hype at it's best.


:\

[king oath]

From QF employee roadshows FAQs published in latest staff news magazine.

"Moving forward our intention is to focus on 2 brands - qantas and jetstar.....
.. and will look at how it (Australian) fits within the group in the months ahead."

Work it out for yourselves.

[Hobo]

DUH!:hmm:
AO's due to take over the two CNS-NRT flights june-ish. I reckon JAL is absolutely spewing as one of the flights is a codeshare.

Where do you get this information from Bug Smasher?
QF's booking website shows the usual QF flight Numbers CNS-NRT up until at least October 2006. (Still AO flight numbers to other Japan destinations) Maybe Cairns based AO pilots will fly the QF 767s on a dry lease type basis but AO is on a different AOC, so wouldn't they need to negotiate their own NRT slots?
I can't see QF mainline giving up their hards won slots. As you probably know until about 4 years ago QF operated a 747-300 CNS-NRT. As I understand it they negotiated an extra NRT slot and had to use it somewhere or loose it and the most cost effective way of doing this was to do two 767s CNS-NRT a day instead of the single 747. This gave them a slot that they could use from, say, SYD if that route demanded 2 flights a day. The CNS-NRT would then go back to a single 747. NRT slots are very strictly regulated and they HAVE to be used. (Post 9/11 some airlines were flying virtually empty aircraft to NRT as if they cancelled too many they would loose the slot permanently.)

[Sonique]

JAL were VERY impressed with AO.

Words from the JAL observation flights of AO.

* Friendly smiling crew
* High cabin presence
* Water Run and Toilets cleaned every half hour were observed
* More value for money (i.e - pax received breakfast into CNS on AO. On QF they got a fruit juice plonked down)

AO would use the existing two QF slots to NRT. No need to renegotiate their own.

My own opinion as to the delay of AO NRT flights is why handover the route to AO when in a couple of months AO may become QF.

[Mr.Buzzy]

Sonique,
Was this an unannounced observation flight? I doubt it.
Hell. I bet even mainline cabin crew could put on a good spread if they knew the boss was watching!

bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzbbbbbbbbbbzzzzzzzzzzzz zzzz

[Elroy Jettson]

Oh I love it! Mainline put on a good show!!! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! Best laugh in ages! Cmon Buzzy, you know they wouldn't put on a good show if Dixon was on the other side of the cart! They are long past giving a $hit about BS like service!:} Especially on the Naritas!!! :}

[flyagain1day]

Reading a few of these posts in here from mainline crew it sounds like you are going to get what you deserve. Thats the way the big ball bounces. My 6 year old daughter carries on better than some of you lot. I will watch this space with great interest and get a good laugh sooner rather than later.

[drshmoo]

flyagain1day

lets hope you dont - give up the net too:rolleyes:

[king oath]

I can say from personal experience a number of times AO flight attendants were competant, friendly and provided a good service in a friendly relaxed manner. Nothing wrong with this airline from my view as a customer.

[soldier of fortune]

qf cainer i fully agree with your comments-
- and having flown with AO a couple of times for me their work ethic and attitude as FA's are buy far the best in the qf group . - in stark contrast to a return QF flt from LAX last year with what seemed like an all male flight attendant team in economy-siting opposite the aft galley- all that the male FA,s spoke about was a big homo orgy they had in some ones hotel room during the lay over and making jokes about how soar their bums were. i told them to keep the sex talk down a bit -they just carried on even more.:eek: