passengers booked beyond their shutdown date (Jan '09) have been reaccomodated on JQ...

also, captaintunedog777 i think you misunderstood me. i was trying to say with the arrival of JQ that yes indeed AN would struggle to compete. now they don't have to.

Bit like the old days of the two airline policy. East West developed the SYD - ASP route initially with the F27 and I think the F28. Once the route was developed,both TAA and Ansett moved in and took over the run.

No doubt, the wheel will turn a full circle and J* will pick up any other international route AN develop once it will sustain an A320.

The same with Flightwest BNE-CBR with the Brasilia and then the big boys came in.

And a quick look at the airline web sites reveal:

ADL-DPS Virgin 2 p/w & JetStar nothing direct.
PER-DPS Virgin 4 p/w & JetStar 3 p/w.
BNE-DPS Virgin 5 direct p/w. I say direct because the new Jet* service from BNE is daily via DRW - why would anyone want to endure a 3 hour wait?

Virgin from BNE 6 hours 15 minutes & JetStar 9hours 20 minutes.

Assume the NT Government is paying heaps of incentives as surely no one from Brisbane is going to fly JetStar?

Cant say I am keen on a 3 hour wait...although could stand the thought of 6 hours non stop in a 737 with limited leg room either. Whilst JQ seem keen on creating a hub through DRW, I think its also important to conisder the A320 wont make it non stop....hence the stop is a must for them.

The other reason for the stop over in DRW is that all flights to DRW are domestic, which is the reason for the 3 hr stopover. You have to collect your baggage, then re-check in and then go through Customs. The same applies on the way back from overseas, you have to collect your baggage, go through Customs, and re-check in again. Having done this off a Singapore flight, I can only say its a real pain in the butt.

3 hours would be just enough time to clear customs in Darwin to make the connection :E or have things changed?

3hrs **** that - gimme SQ

Yep better to go SQ from BNE...8 hours to SIN, at least 3 hours in transit if not overnight, then 2.5 hours to DPS....hmmm...actually that makes the 4 hours to DRW...stop for 3...then 1.5 hours to DPS actually look quite good! You will be arriving in DPS in about the same travel time you would otherwise be touching down in SIN.

I thought that, outbound, the bags are tagged through? Does JQ not interline bags domestic to international? They do between JQ and QF (dom to int). Obviously on the return EVERYONE must clear customs with their bag if going from an 'international' to 'domestic' service.

TAMK, I would guess that Skystar320 was talking about going to SIN not DPS with SQ, rather than the current JQ stopover in DRW enroute to SIN, which is ex CNS and MEL.


Yes I know the thread is DPS...


K

Kanga, yes I guess its possible...but its a HUGE drift is he was. I guess Sjystar will tell us!

SIN is nothing like DPS...and we were discussing pros/cons of getting to DPS.

Cheers

Sorry, my mistake....... Got to get my head checked :ugh::ouch::ugh::ouch:

The International departure lounge in Darwin is a mess. With the checking of pax bags for fluids etc never been catered for in the design, there is only one x-ray machine, so every one has to line up and wait there turn, one by one. Then Customs usually only have 4 points open which further slows down the queue. I would imagine that with the prospect of 3 A320's departing within the hour, things are really going to get pretty tight, and three hurs might not be enough! I would imagine that the proposed terminal upgrade will improve international departures

Just had a phone call from a colleague in Darwin. He said that Garuda Bali flight didn't operate today, the aircraft went U/S for the 0730 departure and is still parked on Bay 10!

And now Garuda are back on the BNE-DPS run in time for the summer school holidays.

e-Travel Blackboard: Garuda Indonesia resumes direct Brisbane Bali flights

So, the punters from SE Queensland have the choice of:
- JetStar with a 3 hour stop over in DRW and the Darwin International Terminal issues as mentioned above,

- Virgin and
- Garuda now.

Surely someone within the Qantas Group is telling someone within the Qantas Group that they may lose out big time with the BNE-DRW-DPS service?