Call dump Qantas in SA
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Call to dump Qantas in SA
From the Adelaide Advertiser 24 October 2007
IT IS a matter of concern that, according to the chief executive of the South Australian Tourist Commission, Andrew McEvoy, Australia's national carrier, Qantas, is hampering SA's bid to win a greater slice of the international tourist market.
Mr McEvoy says Adelaide has the most under-serviced airport of any capital city in Australia and that SA needs more international access. He has been backed by the trade development manager of Tourism Australia, Matt Cameron-Smith, who says more flights are a critical factor in boosting international tourism.
Adelaide has 26 direct international flights a week, compared with 80 in Perth and more than 100 in Brisbane.
Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Air New Zealand each has more direct flights in and out of Adelaide than Qantas.
Clearly, without an increase in international flights, Adelaide is missing opportunities to be the port of first choice or the final departure point for visitors returning overseas.
Qantas may argue that there is only limited demand for direct flights - but why do four other carriers find Adelaide a satisfactory direct flight destination?
There is a case for SA's federal MPs and the State Government to lobby for increased direct flights by Qantas in and out of Adelaide.
But in the meantime, Mr McEvoy has taken the unusual step of urging tourism operators to consider using airlines that fly to Adelaide on a daily basis.
Which appears to be a thinly disguised call to boycott Qantas in favour of overseas airlines.
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/s...006336,00.html refers
IT IS a matter of concern that, according to the chief executive of the South Australian Tourist Commission, Andrew McEvoy, Australia's national carrier, Qantas, is hampering SA's bid to win a greater slice of the international tourist market.
Mr McEvoy says Adelaide has the most under-serviced airport of any capital city in Australia and that SA needs more international access. He has been backed by the trade development manager of Tourism Australia, Matt Cameron-Smith, who says more flights are a critical factor in boosting international tourism.
Adelaide has 26 direct international flights a week, compared with 80 in Perth and more than 100 in Brisbane.
Malaysia Airlines, Singapore Airlines, Cathay Pacific and Air New Zealand each has more direct flights in and out of Adelaide than Qantas.
Clearly, without an increase in international flights, Adelaide is missing opportunities to be the port of first choice or the final departure point for visitors returning overseas.
Qantas may argue that there is only limited demand for direct flights - but why do four other carriers find Adelaide a satisfactory direct flight destination?
There is a case for SA's federal MPs and the State Government to lobby for increased direct flights by Qantas in and out of Adelaide.
But in the meantime, Mr McEvoy has taken the unusual step of urging tourism operators to consider using airlines that fly to Adelaide on a daily basis.
Which appears to be a thinly disguised call to boycott Qantas in favour of overseas airlines.
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/s...006336,00.html refers
Last edited by fence_post; 24th Oct 2007 at 04:20.
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That article is absolutley spot on, Although QF are now flying up to SIN Daily i believe but are not flying directly back to ADL from SIN they go through either SYD or MEL.
Look, I can't put it any more politely than above, ADL has fcuk all consistant througput to support more than the origin of 1 or 2 744's or a widebody Airbus on an occasional weekly schedule and you will certainly not get any 74 ER's out of ADL. I'd write to J* as astart.
This whinge from a state that "went it's own way" despite being warned not to, and still went on to design from scratch essentially an airport that could have been bought out of the box (with no risk) from any of hundreds of US operators and then whinged when it's own design did not work and significant delays and remedial work cauised financial hurt.
yeah , right...............
At least the South Australians show that they now understand whats been done to them by Qantas.
To put it another way, Qantas International schedules have for at least forty years distorted investment patterns in Australia in favour of Sydney - and it hasn't been an accident either.
To put it another way, Qantas International schedules have for at least forty years distorted investment patterns in Australia in favour of Sydney - and it hasn't been an accident either.
why the hatred
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Adeladie dumped
Qantas has also abandoned Cairns as a destination/departure port for international flights. Only fouteen flights a week, all to Narita. Overall QF no longer serves the needs of the travelling public. How is it that Thai Airways International can operate in excess of fifty flights a week to and from Bangkok to four Australian cities and QF can only manage seven, all departing from SYD.
It seems to me that QF management could not be bothered, the word competition scares them s***less. As far as Cairns is concerned it is left to foreign full service carriers ( CX to HKG, CO to Guam, ANZ to Auckland, PX to POM) to carry the can for people who wish to travel somewhere other than Narita and it will not bode well for Qantas to foist second rate airline services onto Asian cities in the form of Jetstar, and painting a Qantas Group Airline on the fuselage does nothing to improve the image of Jetstar or Qantas as the former is on the nose in Cairns and the latters management is, in my opinion, universally despised.
It seems to me that QF management could not be bothered, the word competition scares them s***less. As far as Cairns is concerned it is left to foreign full service carriers ( CX to HKG, CO to Guam, ANZ to Auckland, PX to POM) to carry the can for people who wish to travel somewhere other than Narita and it will not bode well for Qantas to foist second rate airline services onto Asian cities in the form of Jetstar, and painting a Qantas Group Airline on the fuselage does nothing to improve the image of Jetstar or Qantas as the former is on the nose in Cairns and the latters management is, in my opinion, universally despised.
Last edited by Tropicalchief; 25th Oct 2007 at 23:35. Reason: Information error
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Rann Blasts Qantas
And, from todays Adelaide Advertiser:
RANN BLASTS QANTAS
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/s...006301,00.html Refers
PREMIER Mike Rann is to pressure Qantas to schedule more international flights to Adelaide.
In a scathing public attack, the Premier said he thought Qantas had not "done the right thing" by the state.
"The airline's lack of support to SA is bitterly disappointing," Mr Rann said.
"Overseas airlines have shown greater patriotism to SA than Qantas has.
"We have a new airport so Qantas is running out of alibis and excuses."
Pointing out many Australians flew with Qantas because of patriotism, Mr Rann stressed "the right thing to do is a two-way deal".
Mr Rann told The Advertiser he would seek an urgent meeting with incoming Qantas chairman Leigh Clifford to lobby for more flights.
Mr Rann said he knew Mr Clifford, who was a "most reasonable chief executive" of mining giant Rio Tinto and came from SA's Riverland.
Mr Clifford takes over the chairmanship on November 14 and Mr Rann said he would seek a meeting with him as soon as possible.
Mr Rann said SA hosted a range of major events such as the Adelaide Festival, the Masters Games, the Rugby Sevens, the Tour Down Under, the International Guitar Festival and other tourist attractions, which warranted increased services.
"Qantas wanted a new airport and that new airport has brought massive dividends to SA in terms of other international flights," he said.
His move comes after complaints by SA Tourism Commission chief executive Andrew McEvoy. He said Qantas was "letting us down" by having only three international flights a week through Adelaide, while some overseas-based airlines had daily services.
Qantas has acknowledged it has no plans to increase from its three international flights a week.
SA regional manager Terry Simpson said the airline was "a significant contributor to the SA economy". The company employs 670 people in the state through Qantas and Jetstar and has 550 domestic flights a week in and out of Adelaide.
"I am extraordinarily disappointed with Qantas," Mr Rann said. "So many Australians travel on Qantas internationally because we feel it is the patriotic thing to do, the right thing to do. But the right thing to do is a two-way deal."
Mr Rann said that in the past two years a world-class airport had been built in Adelaide, conceding Qantas had been rightly critical of the old airport.
"But that investment in the new airport had paid enormous dividends for international carriers, except for Qantas," he said.
Mr Rann said there were 24 international flights from Adelaide compared with 13 weekly services in 2003.
"There are more overseas travellers coming to SA than ever before," he said.
Mr Rann said that from this weekend, when Air New Zealand added new services, there would be 26 weekly services, increasing to 27 on November 10.
Mr Rann said out of all these services, only three involved Qantas and some of these were via Darwin.
"Qantas cut out its Auckland-Adelaide service saying it was not viable, yet Air New Zealand is increasing its services to six and is about to go to seven," he said. "Qantas has basically ignored SA for international flights. Other airlines are putting more effort into marketing their services."
Opposition Leader Martin Hamilton-Smith said: "I have met with Qantas and they have told me their focus is on outbound flights, We want airlines that deliver tourists to SA rather than milk SA by taking people out."
RANN BLASTS QANTAS
http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/s...006301,00.html Refers
PREMIER Mike Rann is to pressure Qantas to schedule more international flights to Adelaide.
In a scathing public attack, the Premier said he thought Qantas had not "done the right thing" by the state.
"The airline's lack of support to SA is bitterly disappointing," Mr Rann said.
"Overseas airlines have shown greater patriotism to SA than Qantas has.
"We have a new airport so Qantas is running out of alibis and excuses."
Pointing out many Australians flew with Qantas because of patriotism, Mr Rann stressed "the right thing to do is a two-way deal".
Mr Rann told The Advertiser he would seek an urgent meeting with incoming Qantas chairman Leigh Clifford to lobby for more flights.
Mr Rann said he knew Mr Clifford, who was a "most reasonable chief executive" of mining giant Rio Tinto and came from SA's Riverland.
Mr Clifford takes over the chairmanship on November 14 and Mr Rann said he would seek a meeting with him as soon as possible.
Mr Rann said SA hosted a range of major events such as the Adelaide Festival, the Masters Games, the Rugby Sevens, the Tour Down Under, the International Guitar Festival and other tourist attractions, which warranted increased services.
"Qantas wanted a new airport and that new airport has brought massive dividends to SA in terms of other international flights," he said.
His move comes after complaints by SA Tourism Commission chief executive Andrew McEvoy. He said Qantas was "letting us down" by having only three international flights a week through Adelaide, while some overseas-based airlines had daily services.
Qantas has acknowledged it has no plans to increase from its three international flights a week.
SA regional manager Terry Simpson said the airline was "a significant contributor to the SA economy". The company employs 670 people in the state through Qantas and Jetstar and has 550 domestic flights a week in and out of Adelaide.
"I am extraordinarily disappointed with Qantas," Mr Rann said. "So many Australians travel on Qantas internationally because we feel it is the patriotic thing to do, the right thing to do. But the right thing to do is a two-way deal."
Mr Rann said that in the past two years a world-class airport had been built in Adelaide, conceding Qantas had been rightly critical of the old airport.
"But that investment in the new airport had paid enormous dividends for international carriers, except for Qantas," he said.
Mr Rann said there were 24 international flights from Adelaide compared with 13 weekly services in 2003.
"There are more overseas travellers coming to SA than ever before," he said.
Mr Rann said that from this weekend, when Air New Zealand added new services, there would be 26 weekly services, increasing to 27 on November 10.
Mr Rann said out of all these services, only three involved Qantas and some of these were via Darwin.
"Qantas cut out its Auckland-Adelaide service saying it was not viable, yet Air New Zealand is increasing its services to six and is about to go to seven," he said. "Qantas has basically ignored SA for international flights. Other airlines are putting more effort into marketing their services."
Opposition Leader Martin Hamilton-Smith said: "I have met with Qantas and they have told me their focus is on outbound flights, We want airlines that deliver tourists to SA rather than milk SA by taking people out."
Last edited by fence_post; 26th Oct 2007 at 01:50.
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I used to operate the ADL-AKL-ADL flight with 50 pax onboard (many occasions) - and zero pax in Business class.
If the local punters aren't going to fly then why should QF run empty aircraft around to satisfy the minority.
Bums on seats will get QF aircraft operating out of ADL on international sectors.
If the local punters aren't going to fly then why should QF run empty aircraft around to satisfy the minority.
Bums on seats will get QF aircraft operating out of ADL on international sectors.
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Rann's just banging his drum. Must feel unloved because all the attention is elsewhere politically
Not economically feasible if the punters aren't flying
Mike
Not economically feasible if the punters aren't flying
Mike
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from the outside looking in..
..Adelaide has just over one million people (roughly the same as Perth and Brisbane), and nowhere near the tourist attractions the East Coast destinations can offer, or for that matter the economy of Perth and surrounds..
Melbourne is more than three times bigger, Sydney four times bigger than Adelaide in terms of inhabitants.
Also Adelaide has a pretty universal reputation outside OZ as an average larger country town without much pull as such or as a major gateway for tours..
Taking that into account, the numbers of flights going in and out look pretty much okay.. no disrespect to the great people of SA or Adelaide of course
So maybe if the local politicians add to the attractiveness and actively market town and region, demand might pick up, but sending empty tins back and forth cannot be the solution, and sounds rather back to front as an approach
Once the existing flights book out the airlines will no doubt pick up on the opportunity to make a buck or two with more flights..
Ah, well, while we're at it, by far the funniest misrepresentation in aviation must be Canberra International Airport.. has anyone ever actually seen a scheduled international flight go in or out of there, or are they just saying with the name that there's a call-out customs officer somewhere in that strange little wannabe capital?
Melbourne is more than three times bigger, Sydney four times bigger than Adelaide in terms of inhabitants.
Also Adelaide has a pretty universal reputation outside OZ as an average larger country town without much pull as such or as a major gateway for tours..
Taking that into account, the numbers of flights going in and out look pretty much okay.. no disrespect to the great people of SA or Adelaide of course
So maybe if the local politicians add to the attractiveness and actively market town and region, demand might pick up, but sending empty tins back and forth cannot be the solution, and sounds rather back to front as an approach
Once the existing flights book out the airlines will no doubt pick up on the opportunity to make a buck or two with more flights..Ah, well, while we're at it, by far the funniest misrepresentation in aviation must be Canberra International Airport.. has anyone ever actually seen a scheduled international flight go in or out of there, or are they just saying with the name that there's a call-out customs officer somewhere in that strange little wannabe capital?
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In another place and time this was called cargo cult.
We've built it - you come.
It's a commercial judgement call for QF, DJ, UA, EK, PR, JL, and all the other carriers who don't serve ADL non-stop to foreign parts.
In the bad old days the inference was that QF were obliged to operate at a loss to subsidise the State's investment.
We've built it - you come.
It's a commercial judgement call for QF, DJ, UA, EK, PR, JL, and all the other carriers who don't serve ADL non-stop to foreign parts.
In the bad old days the inference was that QF were obliged to operate at a loss to subsidise the State's investment.
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If the ADL people don't support what QF flights there are, why should QF waste thier time? Flying basically empty aircraft is just stupid - no wonder QF will put them on routes that get support.
Boycotting does not solve the problem
Boycotting does not solve the problem
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While I agree with the statement, that if more people flew QF then more services would be added. QF do themselves no favours either. Sometimes the flight to SIN is direct and sometimes via DRW. I have noticed these schedule changes don't always appear in the schedule, they appear to be adhoc. Most of the time QF uses an A330, but on very rare ocassions a B763.
CX and SQ all fly A330 or B777 and you know they are going to be direct to their destination, not be changed adhoc like QF. Also they are most likely cheaper than QF.
Also SIN is the only destination you can get to direct on QF from ADL. They other carriers most likely all have better connections for Asia and Europe.
CX and SQ all fly A330 or B777 and you know they are going to be direct to their destination, not be changed adhoc like QF. Also they are most likely cheaper than QF.
Also SIN is the only destination you can get to direct on QF from ADL. They other carriers most likely all have better connections for Asia and Europe.
The lie is in the old "Market Forces" argument. It's a chicken and egg situation.
For a start the "tyranny of distance" means its 21-24 hours from either New York or London to Australia. After that length of time, believe me, Pax will get off anywhere they can and will NOT reboard for another hours flight to Melbourne, Adelaide, etc. if they can possibly avoid it.
This means that wherever the location of the first stop into Australia is going to have a distinct business and tourism advantage over the other capital cities from incoming international tourism and investors looking for a location to set up operations.
To put it another way, if Adelaide was the location of QF's main maintenance base, and every inbound international traveler had to spend three hours in a transit lounge before reboarding for Melbourne or Sydney, where do you think the investment banking community would have settled? Where do you think the International IT companies would be based?
The chicken and egg bit comes from the fact that with few international flights you can't attract international tourism and investment - and because you don't have a constant flow of international visitors coming and going for business or tourism, you get no direct flights.
And in the past its been a deliberate conspiracy. Ansett had the opportunity to break the QF stranglehold on 747 turnarounds around 1979-80 with the introduction of the 767. Little me proposed doing just this. We were spending all this money on wide body big jet facilities and licence coverage. It would have cost about another $20 million (by my calculations at the time) to add on the ability to do 747 TFC's.
I had expressions of interest from United, KLM (from memory) and Lufthansa, whose manager at the time , Jurgen von Haldenwang, was most enthusiastic at the possibility of getting into and out of Australia without having to fly through Sydney.
...And after two proposals to do this, at a meeting I was politely told by Ron Bush in front of John Bibo and Bondy to drop it "because Abeles will have our balls for a necktie if we break the Qantas monopoly" - those were Bushies words.
For a start the "tyranny of distance" means its 21-24 hours from either New York or London to Australia. After that length of time, believe me, Pax will get off anywhere they can and will NOT reboard for another hours flight to Melbourne, Adelaide, etc. if they can possibly avoid it.
This means that wherever the location of the first stop into Australia is going to have a distinct business and tourism advantage over the other capital cities from incoming international tourism and investors looking for a location to set up operations.
To put it another way, if Adelaide was the location of QF's main maintenance base, and every inbound international traveler had to spend three hours in a transit lounge before reboarding for Melbourne or Sydney, where do you think the investment banking community would have settled? Where do you think the International IT companies would be based?
The chicken and egg bit comes from the fact that with few international flights you can't attract international tourism and investment - and because you don't have a constant flow of international visitors coming and going for business or tourism, you get no direct flights.
And in the past its been a deliberate conspiracy. Ansett had the opportunity to break the QF stranglehold on 747 turnarounds around 1979-80 with the introduction of the 767. Little me proposed doing just this. We were spending all this money on wide body big jet facilities and licence coverage. It would have cost about another $20 million (by my calculations at the time) to add on the ability to do 747 TFC's.
I had expressions of interest from United, KLM (from memory) and Lufthansa, whose manager at the time , Jurgen von Haldenwang, was most enthusiastic at the possibility of getting into and out of Australia without having to fly through Sydney.
...And after two proposals to do this, at a meeting I was politely told by Ron Bush in front of John Bibo and Bondy to drop it "because Abeles will have our balls for a necktie if we break the Qantas monopoly" - those were Bushies words.
